House Democrats are livid that President Biden is going to nix a Washington DC crime bill that would reduce the penalties for violent crimes such as carjackings and robberies.
The bill, which was unanimously passed by the District of Columbia City Council in January, was vetoed by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The Council then overrode Bowser by a 12-1 vote, but because DC isn’t a state, this type of legislation must instead be approved by Congress – and then signed by the President, before it can become law.
Last month the GOP-controlled House threw a wrench in the Democrats’ plans, voting 250-173 for a Republican-sponsored resolution to overturn the DC crime bill. All but 31 Democrats voted for it, meaning most Democrats wanted to reduce the penalties for violent crimes in DC.
Licking their wounds from this expected loss, House Democrats then expected the Biden administration to veto the resolution overturning the original crime bill – which Democratic leadership told lawmakers Biden would do. The White House even issued a Statement of Administration Policy which opposed the resolution and backed the DC City Council.
But on Thursday, Biden announced that he would sign the resolution to block the DC bill – thus maintaining the status quo when it comes to penalizing crime in DC.
And Democrats are livid…
“The White House fucked this up royally,” one House Democrat told The Hill via text message.
“So a lot of us who are allies voted no in order to support what the White House wanted. And now we are being hung out to dry, the lawmaker continued. “FUCKING AMATEUR HOUR. HEADS SHOULD ROLL OVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE OVER THIS.”
The House Democrat told The Hill that several other lawmakers were “EXTREMELY pissed” about the situation.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), the No. 3 House Democrat, issued a rare rebuke of the White House during a Punchbowl News event at the caucus’s retreat in Baltimore, saying that Biden’s move was “disappointing.”
“It’s disappointing for me and anybody who believes in home rule, honestly. I’m a former mayor of a city of 70,000 and I wouldn’t want the federal government coming in and telling me what city ordinances to pass. … So I think it’s disappointing in that context,” Aguilar said.
“I voted against it, but I understand and respect the president’s position here,” Aguilar, the former mayor of Redlands, Calif., continued. “We’ll see, the Senate has to pass that, and I know that they’ve said they have the votes but all of those things have to happen. But it’s disappointing for those of us who believe in home rule.” -The Hill
“Home Rule” refers to allowing DC to make its own laws.
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.
If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2023
One House Democrat aide texted that the Democratic caucus is “a little shocked” by the White House’s decision.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday that “One thing that the president believes in is making sure that the streets in America and communities across the country are safe, that includes in D.C. That does not change,” adding “When it comes to what this proposal brings forth, which is really lowering penalties for car-jacking, he doesn’t believe that’s going to keep our communities safe.”
Jean-Pierre also pointed out that the DC crime reforms 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.”
Tyler Durden
Sat, 03/04/2023 – 16:00
