GOP Georgia congressman Andrew Clyde wants to end local government in D.C.

Andrew Clyde, a Republican junior member of Congress from Georgia, is now D.C.’s greatest nemesis on the Hill.

Why it issues: Republicans profitable management of Congress might deliver again the darkish ages for native D.C. energy — proper as Muriel Bowser might be sworn in for a 3rd mayoral time period.

• Clyde has floated banning abortion, bringing purple state-style gun legal guidelines, and abolishing the mayor’s workplace within the deep blue metropolis.

Catch-up fast: Clyde, 58, is a Navy veteran who sometimes dons fight boots on the Hill. The businessman entered politics after the IRS seized $940,000 from his gun store in 2013, setting him on the trail to advocating for reforms of civil asset forfeiture.

• He received his seat in 2020 and hangs with the hardline Home Freedom Caucus. After the Jan. 6 riot, he notably declared that the footage seemed like “a traditional vacationer go to.”

What he is saying: The nation’s capital, Clyde informed Axios on Monday on the Capitol, is a “shame for our nation.”

• “There’s crime that’s nearly uncontrolled within the metropolis,” he says. “Have a look at the landscaping on Capitol Hill. It’s attractive.” The remainder of the town? “Horrible.”

His treatment? A congressional takeover. Clyde has stated he is drafting laws to repeal the Dwelling Rule Act, the 1973 regulation that enshrined native autonomy for D.C.

• Is he able to turn into the town’s public enemy no. 1? “I don’t assume we go to warfare in any respect,” he informed Axios. The veteran expects Washingtonians to welcome the ability seize with open arms. “These are points we will all agree on,” he says. “Let’s make our metropolis secure once more.”

Risk degree: Along with an abortion ban, Clyde stated he desires to institute a regulation permitting D.C. residents to hold handguns with out a allow.

“There’s a number of issues on the desk,” Clyde informed Axios, including, “I can inform you that, an workplace of mayor, OK, isn’t within the Structure.” Abolish the mayor’s workplace?

• “We have to get again to an originalist interpretation of the Structure,” he says. “Dwelling rule isn’t that.”

However, however, however: Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the highest Republican on the Home Oversight Committee that oversees D.C., stated Clyde’s plans on house rule haven’t risen to management degree.

• “There have been no discussions committee-wide on this,” Comer informed Axios. “That is an Andrew Clyde undertaking that he feels very enthusiastic about.”

The opposite facet: Council member and constitutional regulation professor Mary Cheh, already heated in the midst of a hike in Virginia, stated on the telephone: “Clearly, he doesn’t know something in regards to the Structure” which permits Congress to “train unique” energy over the town’s affairs however doesn’t preclude it from delegating energy to an area authorities.

• Nonetheless, which means Congress might repeal the Dwelling Rule Act, as Clyde has proposed.

Mayor Bowser’s workplace stated in an announcement that Clyde “represents neither the individuals nor the values of Washington, D.C.”

💬 If he desires to run D.C., I say Clyde ought to run for mayor as a substitute! City Talker is a weekly column on native politics and energy. Ship me sizzling suggestions: [email protected]