Battle over DC statehood collides with politics of crime
| Washington
An effort to update聽Washington, D.C.鈥檚 criminal code, which ballooned into a national tussle involving the president and Congress, has dealt a serious blow to the city鈥檚 long-standing fight for autonomy 鈥� while underscoring just how politically potent the issue of crime is likely to be in 2024.
If the U.S. Senate votes, as expected, this week to prevent Washington鈥檚 criminal code reforms from taking effect, it will be the first time in three decades that Congress has directly blocked a measure passed by the city council. Already, a significant number of Democrats have criticized the D.C. bill 鈥� including President Joe Biden, who announced last week that he would sign the measure to block it. A last-ditch effort by the council to withdraw its own legislation on Monday, to avoid the humiliation of being big-footed by Congress, appears to have failed.
Like other major U.S. cities, Washington has seen a spike in crime over the past three years. So when the city council recently approved an extensive overhaul of its century-old criminal code 鈥� including expanding the right to jury trials for misdemeanors and reducing maximum sentences for certain violent offenses like carjacking 鈥� the timing struck even some Democrats as poor. Washington鈥檚 Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the legislation, but the council overrode the mayor鈥檚 veto.听
Why We Wrote This
A surprising number of Democrats in Congress, as well as President Joe Biden, back a measure that nullifies Washington, D.C.鈥檚 new criminal code. In this case, crime trumps D.C. home rule.
In any other city, that would have been the end of the matter. But not in Washington, where the rules over who governs this 69-square-mile plot of land are complicated.听
Acting on a clause in the Constitution that gives Congress聽 over the district, Republicans in the U.S. House began pushing to block the revised criminal code. The GOP-led measure passed the House last month with the support of 31 Democrats 鈥� including Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who had been attacked in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building .听
Momentum swelled among Senate Democrats to publicly refute the council鈥檚 bill following Mr. Biden鈥檚 surprise announcement last week that he would sign the nullification measure, saying that while he supports D.C. home rule, he鈥檚 not in favor of 鈥渓owering penalties for carjackings.鈥� Some reports now suggest more than 70 senators may ultimately vote for the measure.听
The whole episode represents a setback for the D.C. statehood movement, which won a majority vote in the U.S. House just two years ago. And it鈥檚 a measure of how politically perilous the issue of public safety has become for Democrats. Just a few years after some Democratic Party officials were openly debating the merits of policy measures such as 鈥渄efunding the police,鈥� the pendulum is swinging in the other direction, with legislators from swing states now concerned about being portrayed as 鈥渟oft on crime鈥� and Mayor Bowser pushing back against her city council鈥檚 reforms.
鈥淚 have one word: Chicago,鈥� says GOP strategist Alex Conant when asked why so many Democrats are opposing the bill passed by Washington鈥檚 city council, which is itself made up of 11 Democrats and two independents. 鈥淭he primary results in Chicago should be a wake-up call.鈥�
Chicago鈥檚 Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot was ousted last month amid high disapproval ratings about how she handled the city鈥檚 rising crime. Two other Democrats have now advanced to the city鈥檚 April runoff, including Paul Vallas, who won the highest share of votes in the first round of voting after running an aggressively pro-police campaign.听
鈥淐rime is a huge issue, and one that voters are punishing Democrats for at the local level,鈥� Mr. Conant adds. 鈥淎nd at the end of the day, all politics is local.鈥澛�
A more nuanced debate
Advocates of Washington鈥檚 new criminal code say the revisions, which have been in the works for years, are necessary to bring the 1901 code into the 21st century. They add that many of the changes, which wouldn鈥檛 start rolling out until 2025, are more nuanced than what鈥檚 been characterized in the national debate. For example, while critics have seized on the move to reduce maximum sentences for certain violent offenses, advocates point out that the new guidelines are still more stringent than what鈥檚 on the books in many states and more in line with what鈥檚 typically being handed down. Other reforms include clarifying language in the old code that had led to confusion for prosecutors, including redefining certain offenses, and reducing sentences for defendants who have already served at least 20 years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear [many critics] haven鈥檛 even bothered to read the legislation,鈥� says D.C. council member Charles Allen. 鈥淪peaker [Kevin] McCarthy yesterday said that D.C. was decriminalizing carjacking, when in fact it鈥檚 24 years in prison for carjacking.鈥澛�
Twenty-four years would be the new maximum penalty for the most dangerous carjacking offenses, down from a previous maximum of 40 years, with the mandatory minimum for unarmed carjackings lowered聽 to four years. But those penalties are higher than in Mr. McCarthy鈥檚 home state of California, where penalties range , argues Mr. Allen.听 聽
鈥淒.C. needs this [new code], our courts need this, accountability needs this, fairness needs this,鈥� says Mr. Allen. 鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 need is Congress sticking their nose into local affairs.鈥�
Opponents, however, point to recent statistics.听
Homicides in the district reached according to the Metropolitan Police Department, only to increase again in 2021. While the number dropped slightly last year, data from the first two months of 2023 shows an uptick of 30%.
Even more noticeable, say many Washington residents, has been a spike in thefts. The number of motor vehicle thefts so far this year is more than double the number at this point in 2022 鈥� which represented an increase from the year before. The issue has been so pervasive that the Metropolitan Police Department has been distributing聽聽to owners of certain car models that have been particularly targeted.听
Although Elinor Hart, an organizer for the D.C. Statehood Coalition, calls the congressional resolution an 鈥渁bomination鈥� and an abuse of power, she recognizes the political calculus at play.听
鈥淚f you accuse someone who is up for reelection as being 鈥榮oft on crime鈥� that鈥檚 terrifying for them,鈥� says Ms. Hart. 鈥淎nd everyone in the House is going to be up in 2024.鈥�
More than half of the 31 Democratic House members who voted alongside Republicans to repeal Washington鈥檚 criminal code represent districts that next year.听
Some House Democrats聽 that Mr. Biden waited until after the House vote to voice his support for the nullification measure 鈥� after previously stating that , calling it an 鈥渁ffront鈥� to democratic values and to the district鈥檚 autonomy.听Had he tipped his hand sooner,聽more House Democrats likely would have followed suit. Already, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Jon Tester of Montana, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Tim Kaine of Virginia 鈥� all of whom are up for reelection next year 鈥� have announced they will support the disapproval legislation. On Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he, too, would vote with Republicans on the measure.
Some D.C. statehood supporters are accusing the president and others of sacrificing their cause to win elections.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like Democrats never intervened in D.C. affairs under the Home Rule Act,鈥� says George Derek Musgrove, professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a board member for D.C. Vote. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just that they did it for good reasons as opposed to political reasons.鈥�
The Home Rule Act, which was passed by Congress , was Washington鈥檚 biggest step toward autonomy since the nation鈥檚 founding. While still granting Congress 鈥渦ltimate legislative authority鈥� over Washington, the act allowed the district to have 鈥渃ertain legislative powers鈥� to govern itself. Most notably, the Home Rule Act established the city council and mayoral position as they are known today.听聽
Part of the authority that Congress withheld for itself is the ability to block any laws passed by the city council. Before this year, federal lawmakers had utilized that power just three times, although Congress has exercised its control over the district through other means such as appropriations. Still, local activists now worry congressional interference in city matters could become more common. In addition to the revised criminal code, the U.S. House also voted to repeal another city council bill last month, one that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. The congressional rebuttal to the council鈥檚 voting resolution passed with even broader support, with joining Republicans.
Mutually exclusive goals
Despite the fact that Mr. Biden tried to thread the needle, saying that he still supports D.C. statehood even if he also supports overturning the council鈥檚 legislation in this particular instance, statehood advocates say the two principles are mutually exclusive.听
鈥淭he District of Columbia must be allowed to govern itself,鈥� said Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, . 鈥淒emocrats鈥� commitment to home rule should apply regardless of the substance of the local legislation.鈥�
Even Mayor Bowser, who vetoed the council鈥檚 new criminal code, has lobbied the U.S. Senate not to pass the legislation blocking it because of the precedent it would set for her city鈥檚 government.听聽
鈥淎ffirmatively and verifiably,鈥� this will set back efforts for D.C. statehood, says Mr. Musgrove. 鈥淚t shows that this is not a principal issue for the Democratic Party.鈥澛�
That doesn鈥檛 mean Democrats have given up on statehood, of course. But it clearly has taken a back seat to crime 鈥� which in a recent poll said should be a top priority for Congress and the president to address this year, topping illegal drugs, immigration, education, and the environment. D.C. statehood wasn鈥檛 on the list.
