The House approved two D.C. crime bills on Tuesday proposed by Republicans as part of their ongoing effort to improve public safety in the District, most notably through President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge.
The two bills addressed issues involving juvenile justice and received the support of some Democrats, as well as GOP lawmakers.
“D.C.’s soft-on-crime policies have failed to keep D.C. residents and visitors safe,” said Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, as he argued for passage of the two measures.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton spoke against both bills, including one that would no longer allow those in the District between the ages of 18 and 24 to be sentenced under juvenile guidelines. Known as the “DC Crimes Act,” the bill would also require the D.C. attorney general to establish a public website that would publish statistics on youth criminal acts.
“I urge members to vote no on the DC Crimes Act. Keep their hands off D.C.,” Norton said.
The bill passed on a vote of 240-179, with 31 Democrats joining Republicans.
Shortly after that bill passed, the House approved another bill that would lower the age that individuals could be charged as adults in D.C., from 16 to 14, for certain violent crimes.
The legislation passed on a vote of 225 to 203. Eight Democrats voted with Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia’s 7th District joined with Republicans in voting for both bills.
Currently, defendants between the ages of 14 and 17 are prosecuted by D.C.’s elected attorney general.
The Trump administration and the District’s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro have said defendants under the age of 18 should be prosecuted in criminal court.
“The D.C. Council has coddled young criminals for years,” Pirro said on Sept. 6. “They reject mandatory minimums that the law requires, they don’t force judges to follow the law. They have something called youth rehabilitation and incarceration reduction, as well as record sealing.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the House will debate and vote on a bill from Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, which would limit the role D.C. has in the selection of its local judges. And, a bill introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., would weaken the District’s limitations on police pursuits.
Norton said she’ll be speaking against that bill too.
“The more than 700,000 people who call D.C. home are fully capable of governing themselves, just as residents of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana do. I will continue to defend that right,” Norton said in a news release.
The debate over D.C.’s laws comes as the District’s self-governance is being challenged in ways never before seen since the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973. Thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers are patrolling the city’s streets, thanks to a now-lapsed emergency order from Trump.
The District filed a lawsuit challenging that National Guard intervention. Late Tuesday, the Trump administration entered a filing asking that a temporary injunction sought by the District be denied and the case be dismissed.
Still, the latest slate of D.C. legislation has an uncertain future in the Senate, where some Democratic support would be needed. Democrats have criticized Trump’s aggressive intervention in the city’s governance and have defended the ability of its residents to govern themselves.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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