Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of a controversial Washington D.C. crime bill on Friday, claiming he should have given House Democrats a warning that he would sign the bill should it pass the Senate.
Biden’s decision to not veto the bill has been perceived as a victory for Republicans, who passed the legislation in the House of Representatives with full support on Thursday.
TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT LINES UP BEHIND BIDEN ON DC CRIME LAW
“If [Biden] was going to do it, I wish he would’ve told us first, because this was a hard vote for the House members,” Pelosi said at an event at the University of Chicago, according to the Hill. “It’s a hard vote for the Senate members. The mayor of the District of Columbia even differed from the legislators who passed it, so it wasn’t that clear.”
The bill has been met with backlash by Democrats in Congress, because it overturns parts of a crime bill that was passed by the city’s council in January. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) attempted to veto the crime bill, but it was overruled by the city council in a 12-1 vote.
Washington’s new crime laws eliminated a large portion of mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes, and reinstated the use of jury trials for misdemeanors.
“I’m a big supporter of statehood for the District of Columbia. I voted with the District of Columbia,” Pelosi said. “I understand why some people voted against. But if the president’s going to do it, hey, could you give us a heads up too in the House?”
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the president in a press briefing on Friday, claiming he did in fact tell House Democrats about his plan on Wednesday, the day before he announced he would not veto the bill. But some Democrats on Capitol Hill claimed that the White House “f***d this up royally.”
The bill is expected to pass the Senate as early as next week, due to support from centrist Democrats.
