[3] Harry Wingo, then the president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, sued the District of Columbia Board of Elections in an effort to prevent the initiative from appearing on the 2016 ballot.

"[6] The Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a New York-based nonprofit group, led the effort to remove the exemption.

[14] The National Restaurant Association and others supported the grassroots organization "Save Our Tips" to keep the existing system in place.

The Washington Post, Mayor Muriel Bowser, many restaurant owners, and the vast majority of DC Councilmembers opposed the initiative.

[18] On July 10, 2018, seven of the thirteen city councillors – Phil Mendelson, Anita Bonds, Jack Evans, Brandon Todd, Kenyan McDuffie, Vincent C. Gray, and Trayon White – introduced the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018, a bill designed to repeal Initiative 77.

[19] Proponents of the initiative, however, pointed out that it had received more popular support and votes than all of the councillors who faced re-election.

[21] On October 16, 2018, the D.C. Council voted eight to five in favor of passing the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018, effectively repealing Initiative 77.

The council, which is publicly angered when the U.S. Congress overturns its laws, was accused of hypocrisy both by residents and councillors that opposed repealing Initiative 77.

[25] On July 11, 2018, Mark Meadows and Gary Palmer, both Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced an amendment to the federal spending bill for 2019 to block Initiative 77 from taking effect, the day after the D.C. Council announced its intention to repeal the initiative.