A committee has recommended that District of Columbia Councilman Trayon White lose his seat following accusations that he took over $150,000 in bribes.
A D.C. Council ad hoc committee unanimously voted Monday in favor of expelling White, who assumed office in 2017. The Democratic Ward 8 councilman will face a formal vote from the entire council at the end of next month when all of his colleagues will determine whether to follow the ad hoc committee’s recommendation and remove White from the district’s legislative body.
The vote follows White’s arrest by the FBI in August on federal bribery charges.
White is accused of accepting $156,000 in bribes to influence government contracts, including those involving the district’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. After an independent investigation released earlier this month found “substantial evidence” that White violated council rules, he is set to go on trial in Jan. 2026.
Democratic Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has come out in favor of ousting his colleague.
“Let’s cut through the legal jargon: Trayon White is accused of taking bribes,” Mendelson said Monday. “The prosecutors have established probable cause, our own independent investigation found substantial evidence that he took bribes, and public servants are prohibited from taking bribes. This is quintessential corruption.
“There is only one remedy: to remove the corruption from our body,” Mendelson added. “This incident has damaged the public trust necessary for the government to function well. Anything less than expulsion will not rectify the situation.”
White has claimed there is “no clear evidence” of corruption.
Despite the FBI’s allegations that he took $35,000 in cash from an undercover informant over the summer, White handily won reelection to his seat earlier this month, securing roughly 84% of the vote over Republican challenger Nate Derenge.
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Eleven members of the 13-member D.C. council will need to vote to expel White for him to be removed in January 2025. In that case, a special election would be held to fill the seat.
Salim Adofo, a representative of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C, and Rahman Branch, the former executive director of the mayor’s office on African American affairs, are both likely candidates to replace White.