House Republicans are gearing up to consider more than a dozen bills that would further limit Washington, DC’s self-governance, impose tougher punishments and roll back criminal justice reforms in the wake of President Donald Trump’s federal crime crackdown.
The House Oversight Committee will take up the bills Wednesday in a move aimed at bolstering the president’s push, which has drawn the ire of many city residents and Democrats who argue it’s unwarranted federal overreach. Republicans argue the legislation would combat crime and empower local law enforcement.
Declaring crime “out of control” in DC last month, Trump placed the city’s police department under federal control and deployed the National Guard. Though the president’s takeover of the DC police department technically ends Wednesday, the administration hasn’t put an end date on the surge of federal law enforcement and National Guard troop deployment.
House Oversight Chair James Comer told CNN that the reason his committee is taking up these bills is in part to create a longer-term fix to Trump’s use of the National Guard in DC.
“It’s not sustainable to keep the National Guard here forever. So, we look at the root at why crime is so high here in Washington DC,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said. “We’ve got a lot of different aspects of how we can make DC safe again and how we can replicate this in other cities.”
Rep. James Comer speaks to reporters on Tuesday. – Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Among the legislation are two bills that would give the president the ability to appoint the attorney general of DC and make judicial nominations to DC court by eliminating the city’s judicial nomination commission, respectively.
Another bill would codify parts of Trump’s March “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order and create a program to “beautify” the city through removing graffiti and restoring public monuments that have been damaged.
The “Clean and Managed Public Spaces Act” would impose a maximum fine of $500 or 30 days imprisonment, or both, for camping outdoors on public property.
The DC Crimes Act, introduced by Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, would also eliminate the city’s ability to enact any changes to its criminal sentencing laws, giving Congress the sole authority.
The committee will also consider a bill that lowers DC’s age for youth offenders from 24 to 18 and requires the DC attorney general to publish juvenile crime statistics on a public website.
One of the bills the committee will debate would lower the age that juveniles can be tried as adults for certain violent offenses to 14 years of age.
Another measure would repeal two DC laws that US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro had argued emboldens juvenile criminals: One that lets offenders convicted of crimes they committed as a minor ask for a sentencing reduction after serving 15 years in prison, and another that allows automatic sealing or expungement of certain misdemeanors like marijuana possession.
People participate in the “We Are All DC” in Washington, DC, on September 6, calling for an end to the deployment of National Guard troops. – Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty Images
The committee will also consider a bill that would repeal a DC policing reform law, which banned chokeholds and expanded rules around body cameras, passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Republicans in Congress had previously tried to overturn this DC measure, but then-President Joe Biden blocked their attempts.
Another bill would require pre-trial detention for defendants facing violent crime charges and cash bail or bail bonds for those charged with public safety and order crimes.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Tuesday said the bills will come to the House floor in the weeks ahead.
“When people complain about the revolving door of crime, why is it that some young kid can come and commit a carjacking at gunpoint and walk free the next day? It’s because that’s what the ordinances in DC allow. They actually allow soft on crime measures. So we’re reversing that,” he said during a House GOP leadership press conference.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
