Washington, D.C

NRCC takes aim at House and DC Democrats over rising crime rates

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

NRCC takes aim at House and DC Democrats over rising crime rates

EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans’ campaign arm is calling attention to the rising crime levels in Washington, D.C., placing blame on years of failed Democratic policies and a progressive city council.

Washington, D.C., has faced an uphill battle over the last few years when it comes to crime, with the pandemic ushering in a wave of violence that continues to ravage the district’s once-flourishing downtown area. Recent sharp upticks in juvenile offenses and carjackings eventually forced Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to take another look at what the district can do to bring down criminal activity — but House Republicans say it is too little, too late.

A recent National Republican Congressional Committee memo obtained by the Washington Examiner claims that Washington, D.C., leaders are not only “ill-equipped” to handle the district’s increasing crime rates but also “directly contributed” to the problem.

“The failure of D.C. Democrats to keep crime under control has turned the city into a place hostile for residents, businesses, and tourists,” the memo stated. “House Democrats have directly contributed to the ruination of America’s capital city. If applied nationally, the policies supported by House Democrats would bring similar chaos to the whole country.”

In 2020, the D.C. Council approved a $15 million slash in police funding, following a growing trend across major cities in the nation after the Black Lives Matter movement that led to increased support for defunding the police. The council drew national attention a few years later when it overhauled its criminal code in 2022 to reduce offenses and penalties for homicide, robberies, and carjackings — the first time in 100 years that such changes had been made.

The criminal code, like all legislation coming out of the district, is subjected to federal oversight. In February and March, the House and Senate voted to overturn an overhaul of the criminal code, with 173 House Democrats voting in support of the Washington, D.C., law. It marked the first time in 30 years that Congress has repealed a local law passed by the D.C. Council. The council did pass a separate police reform bill that improved police accountability, banned chokeholds, and increased de-escalation training for law enforcement officers.

Though the criminal code overhaul was overruled by national lawmakers, Washington, D.C., is still seeing a rise in homicides, robberies, and carjackings. In 2023, motor vehicle theft increased 82%, robberies increased 67%, and homicides increased 35%. Within the first week of 2024, there have been more than 125 carjackings and 44 robberies.

A House Republican operative told the Washington Examiner that because the D.C. councilmembers trend “pretty far to the left” with virtually no institutional checks, the district serves as a “great example of what happens when you give Democrats completely unmitigated, total absolute control.”

“What’s happened in D.C. is ultimately what they would, if Democrats could, end up doing to most American cities in most American states,” the operative said.

Washington, D.C., is not receiving much support from its attorney general either. Juvenile crime has risen substantially in the district, and there is a lack of strong policies to detain or prosecute them. Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb has come under fire for declining to prosecute several juvenile cases, leading to many of them becoming repeat offenders and escalating to more violent crimes. He also pushed back against Bowser’s “tough on crime” act last summer.

Some of the D.C. councilmembers’ stances on crime are catching up to them. D.C. Councilman Charles Allen is now facing a recall effort led by Jennifer Squires, a former government worker, who said that the representative of Ward 6 should be more dedicated to curbing crime. The recall organizers need to collect signatures from at least 10% of registered voters in Ward 6 to move forward to a special election.

Ward 6 is the largest in the district, spanning the neighborhoods of Downtown, Penn Quarter, Gallery Place, and Chinatown — all areas with increased crime rates. Allen guided the crime laws that Congress blocked in March and also supported the controversial police reform bill in 2020 that was largely opposed by the D.C. Police Union.

In the wake of high-profile crimes, Bowser introduced new legislation in October to support “safe and effective policing” that has been criticized by conservatives for missing the mark. The new legislation would ban criminals from wearing masks, declare drug-free zones, and create new penalties for organized retail theft.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Democratic mayor has also faced recent criticism for her lack of appropriate crime responses after the Washington Wizards and Capitals announced that the organizations would move to Virginia due to the rising criminal activity in the Gallery Place neighborhood.

“Extreme Democrats’ radical policies turned our nation’s capital into a hot bed of soaring crime, causing residents to flee their neighborhoods for safer communities,” NRCC Rapid Response Director Ben Smith said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Now, extreme House Democrats want to export the same failed policies across the country. Only House Republicans are working to stop them.”

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Washington, D.C

Virginia Lawmakers Raise Safety Concerns Over Aircraft Safety After Fatal D.C. Crash

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Virginia Lawmakers Raise Safety Concerns Over Aircraft Safety After Fatal D.C. Crash

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAVY) — On Dec. 10, U.S. Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam, James Walkinshaw, Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan and Eugene Vindman, members of Virginia’s congressional delegation, issued a statement regarding Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026.

The section addresses manned rotary-wing aircraft safety in the wake of the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people.

The lawmakers said they share concerns raised by the Families of Flight 5342 and the National Transportation Safety Board over Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act, citing safety risks in the airspace around Reagan National Airport following January’s fatal collision.

Congress said the provision allows waivers for training flights that could further congest already crowded airspace.

Congress stated, “This provision falls short of NTSB’s preliminary safety recommendations and omits changes that are essential to improve visibility, safety and communications between military and civilian aircraft in D.C. airspace. Further action is needed to prevent a repetition of the mistakes that led to this incident. We will continue working as quickly as possible with our colleagues and transportation officials to get this right before any waivers are issued and to ensure air safety in the region.”

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Washington, D.C

Week Ahead in Washington: December 21

Published

20 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – With Congress in recess and President Donald Trump spending the holidays in Florida, attention has turned to the Epstein files and unresolved healthcare legislation.

The trove of documents partly released Friday has prompted some members of Congress to question whether the Department of Justice followed the law requiring their release, as many files were heavily redacted.

California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said Friday night he and Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie were considering drafting articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi for not complying with the law the two authored earlier this year.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” some photos were held back at the request of victim advocacy groups as the DOJ looks at whether they need redactions to protect the victims.

With Congress gone, there remains no solution on healthcare. Enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Despite enough lawmakers signing onto a discharge petition forcing a vote to extend the subsidies, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent the House home without holding a vote.

Johnson said the full House will vote on the bill when Congress returns to Washington in early January, after the subsidies have lapsed.

Federal workers will get some extra time off this week. Trump signed an executive order closing federal agencies and offices on both Dec. 24 and 26, in addition to Christmas Day.

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Washington, D.C

Smith, Bowser respond to congressional panel accusing D.C. leaders of manipulating crime data

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Smith, Bowser respond to congressional panel accusing D.C. leaders of manipulating crime data

By Michael Kunzelman

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser are responding to allegations about the manipulation of crime data in the District.

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith addresses questions during a news conference at the Department of Justice. Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

A Republican-led congressional committee says that the police chief in the nation’s capital pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower the city’s crime rates, according to a report by a Republican-led congressional committee.

The report, released Dec. 14 by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, says that the police chief often threatened, punished and retaliated against police commanders who presented her with “spikes in crime.”

A separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office also found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower than they are.

Pirro’s office began its investigation in August at the height of a political showdown between Republican President Donald Trump’s administration and the city over control of the police department. Trump claimed violent crime in Washington was getting worse as he ordered a federal takeover of the police department,

Neither investigation found grounds for charging anybody with a crime.

Smith, who is stepping down at the end of the year after two years in charge of the department, has said she doesn’t believe any crime numbers were manipulated during her tenure.

“I have never and will never authorize or even support any thought processes or activities with regards to crime numbers being manipulated,” she told Fox 5 during an interview earlier this month.

Mayor Bowser on Dec. 15 defended Smith’s performance and accused the House committee’s leaders of rushing to judgment “in order to serve a politically motivated timeline.”

“It is my expectation that the crime statistics we publish and rely on are accurate and of the highest quality possible,” Bowser, a Democrat, wrote in a letter addressed to the House committee’s chair and ranking member.

Homicides are down 31 percent this year, from 181 in 2024 to 125 with roughly two weeks left in 2025, according to MPD crime data. Bowser said independent data on hospital visits shows a 33 percent drop in firearm injuries for the first 10 months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. The mayor accused the committee of cherry-picking critical quotes from commanders without interviewing Smith or any assistant chiefs.

“Even a cursory review of the report reveals its prejudice: of the 22 block quotes presented as complaining about Chief Smith’s management style, 20 of them were made by only two command officials interviewed,” Bowser wrote.

The House committee said its findings are based in part on interviews with the commanders of all seven D.C. patrol districts and a former commander who is currently on leave. Commanders testified that Smith pushed for a more frequent use of “intermediate” criminal charges that go unreported as opposed to more serious charges that must be publicly reported, according to the committee.

“These combined efforts, as explained by commanders, amounted to manipulating MPD crime statistics in an effort to show lowered rates of crime to the public,” the report says.

Pirro, who was appointed by Trump, said her office reviewed nearly 6,000 police reports and interviewed more than 50 witnesses in concluding that a “significant number of reports had been misclassified, making crime appear artificially lower than it was.”

“The uncovering of these manipulated crime statistics makes clear that President Trump has reduced crime even more than originally thought, since crimes were actually higher than reported,” Pirro’s statement says.

The committee’s Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said Smith “cultivated a culture of fear to achieve her agenda.”

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

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