DC Council faces a dilemma while the expelled member Tlayon White recovers the seat

A member of the recently expelled DC council won the headquarters from which he was withdrawn five months ago after being accused of accepting bribes in cash.

Trayon White is expected to recover the headquarters he left in February when members of the DC council voted unanimously to withdraw it from the post, a first in the history of the city.

In August 2024, the FBI arrested White after being accused by the federal authorities of having agreed to accept $ 156,000 in bribes. His trial should start in January 2026. White denied any reprehensible and pleads not guilty in the federal case, despite an apparent video to pocket him for allegedly tackled envelopes.

District of Columbia Council Elected Member White, center, pumps his fist when he arrives at his special electoral surveillance evening in district 8, Tuesday July 15, 2025, in Washington, DC (AP photo / Julia Demaoree Nikhinson)

DC Council expelled Tlayon White after an accusation of federal corruption

A Declaration of the Ministry of Justice From August 2024, he alleged that White agreed to accept the bribes in exchange for “the use of its official position to put pressure on the renewal” of contracts worth $ 5.2 million.

White was authorized to come to the special elections because he had not been found guilty of a crime.

“So we sent a loud and clear message to the DC municipal council that Trayon White is there to stay,” White said in his victory speech, according to The Associated Presswho called the race. The point of sale added that the member of the council listed in difficulty told the story of his return to his functions as resilience and redemption.

Trayon White is sworn in another mandate at the Coilumbia district council ceremony at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on January 2, 2025. (Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Now, the members of the DC council are faced with a choice: do they allow White to resume its seat or explain it again, without taking into account the will of the voters of the 8 district? They still have time to decide because White will not be sworn only after the election results, election results in August. However, According to AxiosThe advice has the ability to prevent whites preventively to take office due to the corruption scandal.

District of Columbia Council, the elected member, Trayon White, speaks to his special electoral surveillance party in the neighborhood, Tuesday July 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP photo / Julia Demaoree Nikhinson)

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The story of White echoes that of the former controversial mayor of DC, Marion Barry, in more ways than one. Barry organized a historical political return after the FBI caught it on the camera to smoke crack.

White is represented by Frederick D. Cooke Jr., who was also a lawyer for the defense of Barry, according to the Associated Press. In addition, after his two terms of the town hall, Barry was the representative of district 8 of the DC council, winning the headquarters for the first time in 2005. He held the position until his death in 2014.