The Senate on Wednesday is set to pass a Republican-led resolution that would block a Washington, D.C., crime bill — and should President Joe Biden sign it, it would be the first time in more than three decades decades that Congress has voided laws in the nation’s capital.
The controversial overhaul of D.C.’s criminal code includes the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for a number of crimes, except for first-degree murder, as well as reduce the maximum penalties for crimes such as robbery, carjacking and burglary.
The city’s criminal code has not been fully updated since it was adopted at the turn of the last century, and criminal justice advocates have called it out of touch and confusing.
The Council of the District of Columbia adopted the rules last year, but D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the crime bill in January, citing “very significant concerns” about some of the proposals.
“Anytime there’s a policy that reduces penalties, I think it sends the wrong message,” Bowser said at the time.
The D.C. Council overrode Bowser’s veto, setting up the showdown with Congress. While Congress has given D.C.’s residents the power to govern themselves, also known as “home rule,” the legislature still has jurisdiction over the nation’s capital.
The issue has rankled Congressional Democrats, who have been split over whether or not to back D.C.’s sovereignty while also attempting to not appear soft on crime. The House of Representatives last month passed the resolution to block the crime bill 250-173, with 31 Democrats joining the Republican majority.
Despite the fact that D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he was withdrawing the crime bill, the resolution is expected to easily pass the Senate.
“The debate in the Senate is actually not about our Criminal Code, it’s about next year’s election,” Mendelson told Spectrum News on Wednesday ahead of the vote, adding: “What’s pretty clear is that the Republicans are trying to get the Democrats on the defensive. The Democrats are supporting ‘soft on crime District of Columbia,’ and that’ll be good campaign messaging for next year.”
“The messaging has been taken away from us, we lost control over the messaging,” he continued. “If you look at the bill, it’s not soft on crime, it’s been portrayed as soft on crime – and as a result, folks on [Capitol] Hill are feeling very defensive, and that’s why we’re gonna lose up there.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that he would back the measure, which only needs a simple majority to pass the chamber.
“I’m going to vote yes,” Schumer told reporters. “It was a close question, but on balance I’m voting yes.”
Moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has already said he would vote in favor of the resolution blocking the law, and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is in the hospital seeking treatment for clinical depression, signaling that the bill will have more than enough votes to pass.
But some progressives say they will still back the bill, arguing in favor of the District’s sovereignty.
“D.C. is trying to withdraw the bill and work on it some more,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “Any effort to go forward on this vote is just a way to try to stomp on D.C.”
“D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown, are worthy and capable of governing themselves,” said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., the District’s nonvoting delegate in the Congress. “It is true Congress has absolute power over D.C., but might does not make right.”
President Joe Biden, a self-proclaimed supporter of D.C. Statehood and the right for the District to govern itself, said last week he will sign the resolution should it make it to his desk.
“I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule – but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.”
In an interview with Spectrum News on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell extolled the fact that President Biden “finally figured out that he was in the wrong place on” the measure and said he hopes the vote sends a message to the D.C. Council.
“This is a unique city,” the Kentucky Republican said. “It’s a local government in some ways, but it’s the nation’s capital, and crime is rampant here. I’m worried about tourists who come here. I’m worried about my constituents who come here. carjackings murders through the roof.”
There were 203 homicides in the district last year, about a 10% drop after rising for four years straight. The 2021 murder count of 227 was the highest figure since 2003.
“This D.C. Council ran wild, they got caught, they’re trying to back out of it, but we need to send them a message,” McConnell said. “We’re going to overrule their outrageous decision to lower penalties … for the rampant crimes that are going on here.”
Despite her objection to the bill, Mayor Bowser urged Congress to avoid “meddling” in the District’s affairs.
“We don’t want any interference on our local laws,” she told Chuck Todd on NBC News‘ “Meet the Press NOW” last week. “Quite frankly, members of Congress have expressed similar concerns. There’s a lot of people that don’t agree with what the council did.”
Mendelson agreed with Bowser’s assessment, telling Spectrum News that D.C. residents “are pretty upset about Congress doing this.”
“We have no vote in either chamber of Congress,” he lamented. “For folks from out of state who don’t pay attention to the day-to-day operations of the city, or understand the operations of the city, for them to step in and like this, and just pick this one piece … is very offensive, and it reminds District residents of our inferior status compared to other other states.”
As far as what happens next after the vote, Mendelson says they are going to “reassess and reevaluate our next step forward.”
“The bill that we had put forward was a pretty good bill,” he maintained. “I don’t think that there are major changes necessary. We need to rethink the messaging and ensure that there’s a better understanding of what we’re doing, and make some adjustments.”
