Topline
The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reverse a local Washington, D.C. law focused on criminal justice reforms—an unusual show of force by the federal government over the city’s local laws, as Democrats try to tame the GOP narrative that the party is anti-law enforcement and “soft on crime.”
The American flag flies at the U.S. Capitol on November 6, 2020.
Key Facts
The Senate voted 81-14 Wednesday on a resolution to nullify D.C.’s new criminal justice reforms, with just 14 Democrats voting against the measure and one Democrat voting present.
The House voted 250-173 to reverse the D.C. legislation in February, when 31 Democrats voted with Republicans.
The legislation now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who said earlier this week he intends to sign it in a reverse course of his previous opposition to the legislation—a move that angered some House Democrats who voted in favor of the legislation under the belief that Biden planned to veto it.
The bill undoes reforms the D.C. Council approved in November that stripped away maximum sentencing requirements for some crimes, while giving misdemeanor defendants the right to a jury trial, among other measures.
Biden’s promise to sign the bill aligns with his party’s strategy to reverse the Republican narrative that Democrat-backed criminal justice policies have fueled the crime wave that hit many large cities in the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Surprising Fact
Wednesday’s vote marks the first time since 1991 that Congress has overruled D.C. local law. The federal government has statutory authority over D.C. but rarely exercises its powers and instead operates under the principle that D.C. has the right to self-govern.
Key Background
The reforms passed by the D.C. Council in November were a culmination of a 16-year effort to modernize the district’s 122-year-old criminal code. In addition to reducing penalties for some crimes, the legislation also sought to redefine certain crimes according to more specific standards and eliminate repetition. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill in January, when she said it sent the “wrong message” on crime prevention, while also expressing concerns that it puts an undue burden on the courts and police charged with implementing the reforms. But she also made clear that she opposes “any interference in our local laws.” The Council ultimately overruled her veto, however. D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson attempted a last-minute maneuver to prevent Congress from upending the law by withdrawing it on Monday—a move that was quickly shot down by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who sponsored the resolution to block the D.C. legislation. The White House, in response to criticism from Democrats who said they were blindsided by Biden’s decision to sign the bill, said the president opposes the reforms that reduce maximum sentences “for offenses like murders and other homicides, armed-home invasion, burglaries, armed carjackings . . . armed robberies, unlawful gun and some sexual assault offenses.”
Chief Critic
Some House Democrats were outspoken about their disappointment in the president’s decision to sign the legislation earlier in the week. One anonymous Democratic House member told The Hill Biden “f***ed” this up royally,” and D.C.’s nonvoting delegate in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), called the decision “paternalistic” and “anti-democratic.” Already, the GOP has seized on House Democrats who opposed Congress’ resolution to nix the reforms. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday targeted the 173 Democrats who voted against the reversal in an ad that called their decision “so crazy even Joe Biden won’t support the anarchy.” The ad specifically calls out Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress.
Further Reading
Biden Sides With Republicans On A Bill To Reverse D.C. Criminal Justice Reforms—Here’s Why (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/03/08/senate-overturns-dc-crime-bill-marking-the-first-time-in-decades-its-overruled-dc-local-law/