WASHINGTON — A Texas-native from Irving and then San Marcos, Buffalo & Bergen restaurant manager Brian McSwain is a man to know in the Capitol Hill district. The recent news of Gov. Greg Abbott’s state-sponsored bus program to the nation’s capital has been on his radar, but in his opinion hasn’t picked up much steam to this point.
“Haven’t heard anything about it. We get buses of tourists every day from out of town so it’s nothing new,” McSwain said. “We’re around the corner from Union Station, so tour buses come and go every day. A couple hundred extra people in town isn’t going to shut down the government.”
Having spent the past nine years in the District of Columbia, the service-industry veteran has heard plenty of political talk from behind the bar. However, in this city, the event usually has to be rather large to move the needle.
“We’re so used to here, having protests every week, marches, everyone who wants to save the world is always here doing something,” McSwain said. “So, it doesn’t really hit our radar when there’s another ‘PR’ stunt.”
Most Washington, D.C. residents told Spectrum News they had little to no knowledge of the governor’s tax-payer backed plan. Part of the lack of response could be because the buses are arriving early in the morning and migrants have gone on record to explain they’re not specifically tied to this area.
According to the 2022 census, the metro area itself has a population of more than 5.4 million people. It’s a large mixture of races and backgrounds that McSwain said has built a strong and accepting community.
“There’s a strong sense of community with those who want to be a commnity,” McSwain said. “There’s also a lot of people who are here for a year and do their own thing.”