On March 14, 2025, Executive Director Yesim Sayin was quoted in The New Republic:
How the federal government “reduces its footprint in D.C.” will have repercussions for the local economy, said Yesim Sayin, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center. “If it happens gradually and with a well-designed plan, with a pitch to the private sector at the same time about why it’s a good deal to come and take these buildings and turn them over, it’s one thing,” said Sayin. “It’s another thing if everything drops on the market without any coordination between the D.C. government and the federal government. That will be another depressant, so to speak.”
Moreover, if there is a larger national recession, it would exacerbate the district’s and the region’s economic woes. In the past, said Sayin, a national recession might result in greater federal hiring. But with government employees losing their jobs, the issues plaguing Americans across the country—such as higher prices of groceries—will be felt even more heavily in the DMV.
“This does nothing to the federal government’s bottom line, nothing. But it does reduce the quality of life in D.C.,” said Sayin.
Read More: The Republican Plot to Destroy Washington, D.C.
Additional reading: District of Columbia: A fiscal crisis revisited