President Joe Biden told Senate Democrats on Thursday that he won’t veto a Republican-led effort to roll back changes to the District of Columbia’s criminal code.
“He said that very clearly, and we heard that loud and clear,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.), the only Senate Democrat who has come out in support of the move to defeat the DC Council. “He said he wouldn’t veto it. I think he thought the bridge was too far.
Biden’s decision not to stand in the way of GOP efforts to fight the council’s changes — which have been years in the making but have been criticized by Republicans for lowering maximum sentences for crimes like carjacking and theft — will likely encourage other Senate Democrats to join. Manchin.
It will also anger supporters of DC statehood, who bristle at any and all efforts by the federal government to interfere with local politics. The D.C. Council passed the changes, which reflect updates to the criminal code in states across the country, in a public vote last year.
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the change in January, only for the Council to overrule the veto. Bowser said he doesn’t want Congress to interfere with local laws.
The House has voted to block the DC Council’s proposed changes, with 31 Democrats joining every House Republican in voting to eliminate the council.
“Today’s move to overturn our law is not about making the District safer or more fair,” DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, a supporter of the change, said after the House vote. “Today’s action is political grandstanding and highlights the urgent need for DC state.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.