Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to sign D.C.’s fiscal year 2027 budget, citing concerns about leaving the next mayor and the D.C. Council with significant financial challenges. Bowser announced in a letter to Council Chair Phil Mendelsohn on Friday that she would return it unsigned. WATCH HERE WATCH HEREThe budget will still pass without her signature, as she did not veto the bill. Bowser said that she has repeatedly expressed concerns over the budget funding recurring programs with one-time money, which she said will leave the next mayor and council with a “$837 million budget cliff.” Taken together now, however, they are a significant part of why the District faces an $800 million gap,” Bowser wrote.