D.C. has been under tighter federal control before. Here’s what it looked like

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Before home rule, D.C. was governed by a long series of presidentially appointed commissioners. Here’s what life in D.C. looked like under previous periods of expanded federal control, and how things changed. “And some of them are quite fatal to the city’s prospects for a flourishing economy and democracy.”1995: The Control Board eraAndrew Brimmer, the first chair of the D.C. Financial Control Board, answers questions in 1996. Shoenfeld says that while the city still has its struggles, federal control can be more of a problem than a solution. (Alex Wong | Getty Images)While D.C. has been under various forms of federal control before, Shoenfeld says the kind of takeover Trump is implementing is largely unprecedented.