Robert White faces a stark choice: resign from the D.C. Council or risk losing his place on the Nov. 3 ballot for congressional delegate.

A 1970 federal law bars anyone holding a paid public office from serving as the District's nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. White, a three-term at-large councilmember who earns $171,547 a year, must leave his seat before Election Day to remain eligible, as first reported by City Cast DC.

The provision has not been tested in decades. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has held the seat since 1991. She announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election, and White won the June Democratic primary with nearly 64% of the vote.

Accounts differ on whether the issue caught White off guard. Sources told WUSA9 reporter Rafael Sanchez-Cruz that White and his campaign were "blindsided" by the provision. But White pushed back in an interview with The Washington Sun, saying he has had "a legal theory on this for quite some time." He acknowledged receiving a recent reading from the D.C. attorney general that he did not agree with and did not expect.

White told The Washington Sun he is not ready to announce a plan but will not let the issue derail his path to Congress. "I've got a few days to make a call and determination, but I'm not going to jeopardize going into Congress," he said.

Sarah Graham, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections, told The Washington Sun that White is eligible to run so long as he resigns before Election Day.

Rather than resign, White's staff has asked the Council's legal office to study whether local lawmakers can change the 1970 law, according to internal communications reviewed by City Cast DC. The law appears in both D.C. and U.S. code, raising questions about the Council's authority.

That legislative path faces steep obstacles. The Council is not scheduled to meet this week. Emergency legislation would require a special session and a supermajority vote. Any bill would also need a signature from Mayor Muriel Bowser, a past political rival of White's. Bowser's office had not responded to City Cast DC's request for comment as of Oct. 27. Even if the Council passed a bill, Bowser would legally have 10 days to sign it. White does not have 10 days.

The stakes extend beyond the delegate race. White chairs the Council's housing committee and is shepherding bills on eviction case timelines and affordable-housing funding, City Cast DC reported. Council Chair Phil Mendelson's staff told City Cast DC on Oct. 27 that Mendelson is asking colleagues whether they want housing bills moved to his committee so they can still advance.

If White resigns, the D.C. Democratic State Committee would appoint a temporary replacement to his Council seat. A special election would follow between 70 and 174 days after the vacancy, under D.C. code.

White told The Washington Sun on Oct. 27 that he spent the day calling incoming House members from Democratic districts to introduce himself and discuss D.C. home rule.