Lawmakers in Congress are preparing to introduce a resolution that would overturn local police reforms in Washington, D.C., escalating efforts on Capitol Hill to rein in the district’s autonomy.
The new resolution will target laws passed by the D.C. Council in December to reform the Metropolitan Police Department and the district’s justice system in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of law enforcement in 2020. Several of those reforms focused on prohibiting the use of neck restraints, increasing access to body camera footage, and revising officer discipline procedures.
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The effort is being led in part by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who has repeatedly targeted Washington’s legislative autonomy granted through the Home Rule Act.
“As the Metropolitan Police Department grapples with the District’s ongoing crime crisis amidst a historic staff shortage, the D.C. Council is determined to enact a deeply flawed bill that prevents officers from effectively protecting and serving Americans in Washington,” Clyde told the Washington Examiner. “Alarmingly, this misguided law will inevitably jeopardize the MPD’s ongoing efforts to recruit and retain officers — worsening an already serious problem. Now that Congress has effectively used its constitutional authority to strike down the D.C. Council’s dangerous Revised Criminal Code Act, we must now move to swiftly block this anti-police measure to ensure our nation’s capital city is safe for all Americans.”
That provision allows Washington to operate as an independent city government despite not having statehood. The only caveat is that all laws are subject to congressional approval before being enacted, occasionally setting up showdowns between Congress and local lawmakers.
The resolution will build on Clyde’s efforts to overturn other laws passed by the district council, including one resolution to repeal the district’s revised criminal code that passed the House last month. The Senate voted to pass that measure on Wednesday, and it now heads to President Joe Biden, who said he will sign it into law, marking the first time in 30 years that Congress has overridden a law passed by the D.C. Council.
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The measure revived tensions between congressional Republicans and local lawmakers in the district, who denounced the legislation as an effort to use Washington as a way to score political points ahead of a crucial election cycle.
It is not yet clear when the resolution is expected to be introduced in the House, but Clyde’s office told Axios it has already collected 15 co-sponsors. The resolution would likely pressure House and Senate Democrats into another tough vote that would force them to choose between preserving Washington’s legislative independence or avoiding politically sensitive opposition ahead of the 2024 elections.
