Senate Democrats might force President Joe Biden to use his first veto if they send a bill to his desk overturning a Washington, D.C., crime law.
Last week, the House passed a resolution that would overturn a law softening the punishment for homicide, robberies, and carjackings. The measure is heading to the Senate, where just a few Democrats could make the difference between it failing or moving forward.
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The indecision among Senate Democrats on whether to pass the measure or not highlights the party’s divide regarding crime and Washington’s self-governance.
“I have concerns about passage here. Of course, the president could veto. He’s going to have to make that decision,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said in an interview with Politico. “Congress shouldn’t be bigfooting decisions made by the elected representatives of the people of the District. I will be talking with [Democrats] about this general principle.”
Biden has said he is opposed to the bill but hasn’t said whether he plans to veto it if it lands on his desk.
The resolution cannot be filibustered, so all it would take is 51 senators to roll back the capital city’s statute. Congress hasn’t overridden a district statute in more than 30 years.
A decision on the crime bill will come after Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was assaulted in her Washington apartment building by a homeless man with a long criminal history. She took the opportunity to chastise Washington for lax crime laws.
“I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning,” she said. “And so I think we have to think about how in the world can we make sure that we’re not just letting criminals out.”
The House resolution pulled support from 31 Democrats, in addition to all of the chamber’s Republicans. And several Democratic senators have been silent on whether they support overruling the district’s new law.
Support for the law was unanimous by D.C. Council members, but Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has defied the council in the past, vetoed the bill last month, stating it was too broad and should focus on making Washington safer.
However, other officials are hoping that the president will side with the wishes of residents and council members.
“My hope is the president would veto it and stand with the residents of the District of Columbia, stand on principle, and recognize that this is not a soft-on-crime piece of legislation,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said.
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He added that this resolution could offer disastrous consequences for the future of D.C. statehood.
“A couple of years ago, it looked like we were on the doorstep of becoming the 51st state. We still have to work hard every day to aspire to that,” Schwalb said. “We’re now at the whims and the vagaries of a certain small group of politicians who are using the District of Columbia as a prop.”
