The US Senate is planning to overrule an appalling DC crime bill that would reduce maximum penalties for some violent crimes, according to Axios. This, despite the DC City Council Chairman bowing to pressure and claiming to withdraw the bill this morning.
The bill is so bad that it has bipartisan support against it and even Joe Biden said he wouldn’t veto the bill.
The police chief spoke out this morning against the bill, saying the city needs to keep bad guys with guns IN JAIL so they won’t keep committing violent crimes. He also gave a statistic that is very telling for how bad the situation is already in DC:
DC police chief begs for common sense
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 6, 2023
“Right now, the average homicide suspect has been arrested eleven times, prior to them committing a homicide. That is a problem.”
It’s not surprising with the city being run by leftists, who want to water down their violent crime laws even further.
Here’s more on all this via Axios:
The D.C. Council bowed to bipartisan pressure on Monday by attempting to withdraw sweeping changes to the city’s criminal code that the Senate appears on track to block later this week.
The local legislation, which reduced maximum penalties for some violent crimes, sparked a national debate on crime and led many Democrats to side with Republicans in spite of their party’s support for D.C. home rule.
It has led to a showdown between D.C. and Congress that could result in federal lawmakers blocking a local law for the first instance since 1991.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson sent a last-ditch letter aiming to withdraw the bill on Monday morning. Two Senate leadership aides said later the vote is still expected to occur.
One aide told Axios that the Home Rule Act does not allow for such a withdrawal and that the Senate vote is contingent on a House-passed resolution, not the D.C. council’s transmission.
Mendelson’s backtrack came after President Biden announced he wouldn’t veto the GOP-led resolution, handing House Republicans a win and providing cover to vulnerable Senate Democrats.
“It will be a hollow vote” if Congress moves ahead on the overturn, Mendelson told reporters earlier Monday. He admitted he couldn’t find a precedent for a D.C. bill being withdrawn from Congress during its required review period.
Trying to pass a ridiculous crime bill like this can’t help DC’s hopes of getting statehood.
Although I’d be willing to bet that the same Democrats voting to overrule this crime bill would still vote for statehood if it meant another Democratic senator.