John Horton, DoorDash head of North American policy
The delivery giant DoorDash is trying to cripple District of Columbia’s fiscal self-governance, in response to the D.C. Council’s recent vote to add a twenty-cent fee to third-party deliveries. DoorDash is the lead supporter of the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act (H.R. 9720), which would require a resolution of approval by Congress of any D.C. action under title 47 of the D.C. Code, which covers taxation, licensing, permits, assessments, and fees.
In a letter to House Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Council chair Phil Mendelson excoriated the bill, saying it would “straightjacket the District because it would paralyze our tax code,” as it “applies to both tax increases AND decreases” and would “also freeze our General License Law.” He cited several examples of the specific measures which would be affected, and noted the new revenue restrictions would likely lead to a downgrade of the District’s bond rating.
The bill was also opposed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who submitted a letter saying it “endangers public services in D.C.” as it would “would cause serious, structural challenges for D.C.’s budget and undermines core principles of home rule.” The League of Women Voters opposed the bill as well, calling it “the latest in a long line of attacks on DC’s democracy and the stability of its finances.”
In Wednesday’s House Oversight markup of the bill, Comer cited DoorDash’s support and entered the company’s letter of support into the official record. The markup was packed with local residents opposing the legislation, including D.C. shadow senator Ankit Jain.
Hill Heat has acquired the letter, which was signed by lobbyist John Horton, DoorDash’s head of North American Policy. Horton previously lobbied for the vaping company Juul and for Lyft after working on Capitol Hill for Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), former chair of the House Science Committee. He is a director of the board of LGBTQ+ Victory and of its c(4) arm, LBGTQ+ Victory Action.
Although the legislation applies to all fiscal changes to D.C. code, DoorDash’s Horton misrepresented the bill as requiring congressional approval only “before the District of Columbia can impose or increase a tax or fee.” Horton continued: “We believe this is a reasonable check against the hastily enacted local taxes and fees that fall hardest on small businesses and the residents who depend on them.”
DoorDash has a market capitalization of $81 billion, with $14 billion in annual revenue.
In response to DoorDash’s attack on DC home rule, the Free DC organization has launched a flash campaign encouraging people to boycott the company, delete the DoorDash app, and post screenshots of account cancellations with the hashtag #DeleteDoorDash.
The oversight committee reported H.R. 9720 favorably on a party-line vote of 23 to 18, with Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) not voting.
Read the DoorDash letter in support of H.R. 9720 in full:
July 22, 2026
The Honorable James Comer
Chairman
U.S. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515Re: DoorDash Support for H.R. 9720, the “D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act”
Dear Chairman Comer and members of the committee:
On behalf of DoorDash, I write to express our support for H.R. 9720, the “D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act,” which would require congressional approval before the District of Columbia can impose or increase a tax or fee. We believe this is a reasonable check against the hastily enacted local taxes and fees that fall hardest on small businesses and the residents who depend on them.
DoorDash’s marketplace in the District is built overwhelmingly on small, independent merchants: Roughly 80% of DC merchants that were active on our platform as of December 2025 had 3 or fewer storefronts on the platform. These are the businesses least able to absorb new taxes and fees or the administrative burden of complying with them, from costly point-of-sale upgrades to added compliance overhead. The District’s recently passed delivery tax illustrates the risk: a tax on virtually every delivery, with proceeds designated for a myriad of projects and the District’s general fund, passed without a single public hearing and, consequently, without input from the residents and small businesses it will most heavily impact. Based on our internal data, a tax like this would mean millions of dollars a year in added costs for D.C. residents and lost revenue for local merchants, and that burden grows quickly as the rate is increased, as authorized by the Budget Support Act. Research on comparable taxes bears this out: an economic analysis of Colorado’s retail delivery fee found it raised takeout prices by nearly 1%; cut delivery orders by more than 400,000 a year; cost the restaurant sector over $12 million in revenue; and resulted in a loss of roughly 234 jobs across restaurant and delivery workers.
Taxes like this also fall hardest on the most vulnerable households: the elderly, disabled, and lower-income families who have less room to absorb added costs.
H.R. 9720 does not prevent the District from raising revenue; it simply ensures that when the District moves to impose or increase a tax or fee, that action receives the kind of affirmative, time-limited congressional review already used for other categories of D.C. legislation. Given the outsized impact these measures have on small businesses and the residents they serve, we believe that is an appropriate safeguard, and we urge the House to advance H.R. 9720.
Sincerely,
John Horton
Head of North American Policy
DoorDash
Read the AFSCME letter in full:
July 21, 2026The Honorable James Comer, Chair
The Honorable Robert Garcia, Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Garcia:
On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I write in opposition to the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act (H.R. 9720).
H.R. 9720 turns the fundamental premise of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on its head and endangers public services in D.C. Under current law, Congress can move to disapprove of a bill after it is passed by the council and signed by the Mayor. H.R. 9720 would instead require Congress to approve any new local tax or fee in order for that tax or fee to become law. This bill would severely restrict the District of Columbia’s autonomy to raise and spend its tax dollars to meet the needs of its constituents, a right afforded to every other state and local government across the country without the intervention of Congress. The bill would explicitly preempt the residents of D.C. from democratically choosing to enact a new Business Activity Tax (BAT) that could raise $500 million to support public services.
The District of Columbia has consistently proven its ability to manage its own finances, as the District’s financial statements received a clean audit opinion for 29 consecutive years, indicating no material misstatements or errors. In the latest financial report, D.C. finished FY 2025 with a balanced budget, fully funded trusts for retirement benefits, and a strong bond rating. To meet the unique financial challenges posed to the District from the actions of the federal government, including unprecedented federal layoffs and historic cuts to federal programs such as SNAP and Medicaid, D.C. must have all policy tools available to meet the needs of its residents.
H.R. 9720 would cause serious, structural challenges for D.C.’s budget and undermines core principles of home rule. It would impose an unnecessary, harmful and steep procedural hurdle to raising any new revenue for D.C. in furtherance of a partisan agenda. I urge you to vote no on the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act (H.R. 9720).
Sincerely,
Elizabeth S. Watson
Director of Federal Government Affairs
Read the League of Women Voters letter in full:
July 22, 2026Re: Reject HR9720 the DC Taxing Authority Review Act
Dear Members of the House Oversight Committee:
On behalf of the League of Women Voters of the United States (the League), we write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 9720, the DC Taxing Authority Review Act which would severely interfere with the ability of the District of Columbia (DC) to manage its finances. This bill is yet another attempt to interfere in the business of DC and undermine its ability to selfgovern. Passage of this legislation would require Congress to approve any legislation passed by the DC Council that imposes or increases a tax or fee. This legislation is the latest in a long line of attacks on DC’s democracy and the stability of its finances. DC residents pay federal taxes and comply with all the other duties of citizenship, yet Congress continues to insert itself in its daily business while giving DC’s residents limited control over their own local governance. While we recognize that Congress has the authority to reject or amend laws enacted by DC through the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, passing this bill would micromanage the affairs of the DC, highlighting the relegation of its more than 700,000 residents to second-class citizenship without the same voting rights enjoyed by citizens of states. We exhort you to uphold democracy and grant District residents the autonomy to manage their own affairs, free from external interference or meddling.
We urge the Committee to reject HR9720, which would be an undemocratic overreach that would destabilize DC’s finances. District residents need the autonomy to manage their own affairs, free from external interference or meddling. It remains painfully clear that the right to vote is meaningless if the will of DC residents can be subverted and micromanaged by a Congress that gives them no say in the matter.
For questions, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or Kristen Kern, our Federal Policy and Advocacy Manager, at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Jessica Jones Capparell
Director, Government Affairs