D.C. Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George formally launched her transition Wednesday, unveiling a roster of local government veterans, labor leaders and federal appointees tasked with building out her “people-first” administration.
Based at an office at 899 North Capitol St. NE, the transition will be directed by Jennifer Levy, who previously served as the first deputy attorney general in New York. Levy is flanked by five co-chairs: former D.C. Deputy Mayor Beatriz “BB” Otero, former White House Office of Presidential Personnel Director Gautam Raghavan, labor leader Greg Akerman, D.C. Action Executive Director Kimberly Perry and Aaron Jenkins, who served as President Barack Obama’s director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The group will immediately begin vetting candidates for deputy mayors, agency directors and commissioners, accepting applications through a new jobs portal. On Wednesday, Lewis George emphasized that her transition leaders were selected based on their diverse range of experience and their ability to help her “prepare and deliver on Day 1.”
She said that operational competence and a commitment to representing all of the city’s eight wards were prioritized over pure ideological alignment.
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“This is the big leagues,” Lewis George told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. “It’s a group that I trust, and I hope that this shows residents of the District of Columbia that that’s where our government is headed, with credible, quality leaders who are ready to deliver on Day 1.”
Lewis George said a major priority for the team is ensuring no interruption in essential services, such as trash collection and snow removal, during the handover from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration.
Before overhauling the government structure, the transition team will conduct a “forensic analysis” of the city’s agencies and budget to identify efficiencies and savings, she said. She also floated the possibility of “desk audits” at some agencies to determine exactly what roles government employees are filling.
While she declined to go into specifics about how the city’s agencies and government leadership positions might change under her administration, she confirmed she will retain an economic development office — seeking a leader who can cut red tape for businesses, collaborate with the education and medical sectors and push toward her ambitious goal of building 72,000 homes.
Lewis George announced a contract with the Police Executive Research Forum to conduct a “national and local search” for the city’s next chief of police; she noted the independent organization has assisted with more than 200 police executive searches, including in Baltimore and Boston. Jeffery Carroll has served as interim police chief since December 2025.
“We will be making critical decisions over the next year or more to get our government where it needs to be,” she said.
Lewis George said her team is working on setting a meeting with President Donald Trump, adding that she sees an opportunity to work with him on shared priorities that benefit District residents, like the expansion of Union Station and federal transfers that provide the city with more land. She also aims to work with Congress to fully fund D.C. Superior Court, which would allow for the hiring of more magistrate judges — alleviating backlogs in criminal and landlord-tenant proceedings.
Lewis George said she will officially resign her Ward 4 D.C. Council seat the same day she is sworn in on Jan. 2, expressing hope that a special election to fill the vacancy will be held as soon as March 16. She also doubled down on campaign promises to release an accountability scorecard outlining resident feedback before she takes the oath of office.
Funding for the transition and an upcoming “people’s inauguration” will rely on council-allocated funds and small-dollar fundraising — barring corporate donations from entities currently doing business with the District.
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