President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Congress to potentially nix reforms to the criminal code of Washington, DC, has left him facing criticism from his own party as he prepares to launch his reelection campaign.
The move to promise to sign the GOP-led legislation reflects a rising desire among more moderate Democratic lawmakers to avoid being seen as soft on crime, especially in the wake of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s surprise primary loss earlier this week. The DC policy was criticized by Republicans and others as being too lenient toward violent criminals with the District of Columbia seeing an uptick in violent crime.
However, Biden’s revelation Thursday in a meeting with Senate Democrats that he would allow the bill to become law set off howls of objections from progressives and DC residents, who said the president is letting Congress step on the ability of Washington’s citizens to govern themselves. The president’s decision also contradicts his own administration’s earlier stance, laid out in a statement of administration policy last month, that said, “Congress should respect the District of Columbia’s autonomy to govern its own local affairs.”
Biden attempted to explain the reasoning behind his change of mind, saying in a tweet from his official account, “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.”
A vote on the measure is expected in the Senate next week. It has already passed the GOP-controlled House.
When pressed on why the president believes that he should step in on this case when it comes to how the district is governed, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered similar reasoning that…
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