WASHINGTON — At-large D.C. Councilmember Robert White will resign on Monday to remove any doubt that he can legally be elected the District’s next delegate to Congress.
White, the Democratic nominee for D.C.’s nonvoting seat in the U.S. House, announced the decision on Thursday. “I made the decision this afternoon after hearing from many residents who expressed their hope that I would represent them in Congress,” he said in a statement. “I wanted to remove any doubt before Election Day about my eligibility to serve as Delegate.”
The problem is one line in the 1970 law that created the delegate’s office. The law says no one may hold the office unless, “on the date of his election,” he “holds no other paid public office” — and White’s Council seat is a paid public office. Everything turned on one question: what is the date of his election?
Attorney General Brian Schwalb reads those words to mean Election Day — Tuesday. White argued the date should be the day the winner is officially certified, which would let him stay until December 2. The attorney general’s office has not published its legal opinion and declined to comment, citing attorney-client privilege. A spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections said publicly that White is eligible to run as long as he resigns before Election Day.
White first said Wednesday he would step down unless a legal fix appeared, and he asked his colleagues to pass an emergency bill changing the rule. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson declined to take the idea up. “I’m not going to do anything that’s going to jeopardize my ability to serve the city in Congress,” White told reporters. His Republican opponent, Denise Rosado, argues he is already disqualified because early voting has begun.
White is running to succeed Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has held the delegate’s seat since 1991 and is retiring. The delegate can debate and serve on committees but cannot vote on final passage of laws. White won the Democratic primary in June and is the heavy favorite on Tuesday. He once worked in Norton’s office as a legislative lawyer.
His departure leaves two openings at the Council. The D.C. Democratic State Committee will choose an interim at-large member, and under D.C. law a special election must follow within 70 to 174 days of the vacancy. Mendelson will also take over White’s housing committee and its 24 pending bills; he has said only about four are likely to pass before the Council’s term ends December 31. White’s staff stays through the end of the year.
White said he knew of the provision when he filed to run in October 2025 but did not expect it to be an issue. The rule has never decided a D.C. race before: Norton was a law professor when elected, and her predecessor, Walter Fauntroy, was a pastor. White plans to speak outside the Wilson Building at 5 p.m. Monday, the day before District voters cast their ballots.
