Why A Full Federal Takeover Of Dc Would Require An Act Of Congress

The moment that local officials in Washington have been dreading for months is finally here. President Donald Trump, one month into his second term, has publicly returned to one of his longtime talking points: a federal takeover of the District of Columbia .

It would take some doing, though - including, literally, an act of Congress. But the issue bubbled up again this week, the latest in the blizzard of initiatives that have surfaced since Trump took the oath of office Jan. 20.

Whether it was just a reminder that the president possesses the power to set off alarms with an off-the-cuff remark or by directing his administration to take concrete steps to make it happen remains to be seen. As with efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico , make Canada the 51st state or make Greenland a U.S. territory, a lot depends on what happens next.

Here's a look at some of the questions surrounding the issue:

Could this really happen?