“EVERYTHING in DC is political.”
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE is POLITICAL.
That’s because politics at its essence is about promoting what you perceive as your self interest at a societal level.
And every decision anybody consciencely makes is for the purpose of advancing his self interests - as he perceives them.
While promoting what you perceive as your self interest is universal, in DC the power to reward and punish is somewhat unique. The system buys people off and otherwise finds ways to intimidate and convince them to “be reasonable”. The old DC aphorism applies: To get along, go along.