Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. Fed cuts interest rates in first meeting since Trump win 2. Federal workers prepare for cuts, forced relocations in Trump’s second term 3. Srinivasan and Samirah announce run for Subramanyam Senate seat 4. New report spells out next step for planned Alexandria-Tysons bus rapid transit 5. New plans show long vacant Victory Center office building could be converted to housing.
By ZACH HALASCHAK, Washington Examiner
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, welcome news for consumers who have been struggling with higher rates. After a two-day meeting of its monetary policy committee in Washington, D.C., the Fed announced it would move its rate target to 4.50% to 4.75%. Investors anticipated the move after the central bank’s bigger cut of half a percentage point at its September meeting.
By EMILY DAVIES, LISA REIN, EMMA UBER AND AARON WIENER, Washington Post
With Donald Trump now less than three months away from retaking the White House, an office he won in part by pointing to his record as a businessman, thousands of federal workers in the D.C. region and across the country this week once again adjusted to a new status — as his future employees. And he has signaled many of them could soon be on the chopping block. … “I think you can’t overstate the effect on the workforce,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who presides over a district with tens of thousands of federal workers, said in an interview. “This is going to be the Trump administration we experienced before on steroids.”
By BRANDON JARVIS, Virginia Scope
Del. Kannan Srinivasan and former Del. Ibraheem Samirah announced their candidacy for SD-32 Wednesday. This comes after the current senator for the district, Suhas Subramanyam won the VA-10 congressional election Tuesday. A special election to replace him in the Senate will likely occur in early January. Srinivasan is being endorsed by Loudoun legislators Sen. Russet Perry and Del. Marty Martinez, and he has the support of several Loudoun Board of Supervisors members.
A planning effort kicking off next year could determine the future of a major transit project in the West End. Envision Route 7 is an ongoing plan to build a bus rapid transit (BRT) system connecting the Mark Center in Alexandria, through Bailey’s Crossroads and Falls Church, out to Tysons. An update headed to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission tonight spells out some of what’s ahead for that plan in 2025.
After over two decades of sitting empty at 5001 Eisenhower Avenue, the Victory Center could be converted into housing. The proposal comes as Alexandria has been seeing an increasing number of office buildings converted to residential use. Developer Stonebridge had previously submitted plans to demolish the building, though the memo from City Manager Jim Parajon indicates that’s no longer the case.