On May 28, 2025, Executive Director Yesim Sayin was quoted in the Governing Magazine:
“Investors are very leery about D.C. right now,” says Yesim Sayin, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center. “They have a million places they can send their money, and D.C., which was at the top of their list for the longest time, is no longer at the top.”
These conditions make an interesting environment for Bowser to go all in on economic growth. Sayin, of the D.C. Policy Center, says her “growth agenda” budget makes a bet that cutting back regulations and promoting business growth will save the district from some of the most painful cuts in future budget years. It’s a decent bet, Sayin says, but the budget proposal also acknowledges that it may not work, and that cuts may occur one way or the other.
Read More: Amid Federal Cuts, the D.C. Area Braces for a Downturn
Additional reading: High-level takeaways from the Mayor’s FY 2026 Budget Proposal