Congress's year of dealing with DC's rising crime

Crime in Washington, D.C., has made headlines as unlawful acts spike, and in 2023, the events also started to affect the national government in the district.

Though the federal government typically stays out of the district’s local matters, Congress came face-to-face with Washington, D.C.’s spiking crime several times in the past year. Here are three times Congress was confronted with crime in Washington, D.C.

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS ATTEMPT TO BAN TRUMP FROM 2024 BALLOT

Congress blocks D.C. crime bill

In February, the House of Representatives voted 250-173 to block a revised criminal code passed by the D.C. Council that would have softened the punishment for homicides, robberies, and carjackings. The council had approved the crime bill by overriding Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto. The House bill blocking the Washington, D.C., crime bill passed with support from 31 Democrats and all Republicans.

In March, the bill passed the Senate 81-14 after President Joe Biden said he would not veto the bill if it got to his desk. Biden did indeed sign the bill into law, and Washington, D.C., had its first piece of legislation blocked by Congress in 30 years, dealing a blow to the Washington, D.C., statehood movement.

Two members of Congress are victims of crime in Washington

The crime bill was able to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate after Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was physically assaulted inside an elevator as she was leaving her apartment building in Washington, D.C., in February.

The incident brought Washington, D.C.’s crime crisis into national headlines, but it would not be the last time a member of Congress was a victim of crime in 2023. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was carjacked at gunpoint in Washington, D.C., in October.

House of Representatives takes a more hands-on approach to crime in D.C.

After blocking the new criminal code early in the year, the House of Representatives took a more hands-on approach to crime in the district through various hearings and actions.

The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing on violent crime in Washington, D.C., in October, and Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith gave a briefing to the House Oversight Committee in December.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Today’s briefing with D.C. Mayor Bowser and Police Chief Smith was a productive and bipartisan discussion about rising crime in the nation’s capital,” committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said about the December briefing. “The crime statistics alone are shocking. Homicides, property crime, carjackings are all historically high and soft-on-crime measures have only made the situation worse.”

With the House GOP remaining hawkish on crime, expect Washington, D.C., crime to get attention in 2024 heading into a contentious election in November.