WASHINGTON (CN) — House Republicans on Wednesday launched an enormous legislative salvo against Washington, D.C., debating a raft of bills they said are aimed at addressing crime and mismanagement in the nation’s capital.
But Democrats and the D.C. government have argued that the effort, which would inject Congress further into the city’s lawmaking power and clamp down on its criminal justice system, is an unprecedented assault on D.C.’s historical independence and represents a “power grab” by the GOP and President Donald Trump.
Washington, D.C., aided by its unique legal standing, has become ground zero for the Trump administration’s crackdown on escalating federal law enforcement and immigration activities in Democratic cities.
Last month, the president invoked a rarely used clause in D.C.’s home rule law to seize control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed National Guard troops and federal agents to address what Republicans claim is a surge in crime.
The White House has also taken an interest in “beautifying” D.C. In March, Trump issued an executive order forming a multi-agency task force to restore monuments and federal buildings and clear homeless encampments from federal property.
With the president's “emergency” declaration set to expire and D.C. leaders bracing for a possible indefinite federal presence in the city, Congress is moving to assert its authority over the nation's capital.
The House Oversight Committee met Wednesday to debate more than a dozen mostly Republican-backed bills. GOP leadership frames the effort as making D.C. safer, while Democrats accuse them of using the city as a political prop.
“It's pretty clear that Donald Trump and House Republicans, especially here on the Oversight Committee, are pushing a blatant power grab by hijacking authority from local Washington, D.C. leaders and residents,” said California Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the panel.
At the top of Wednesday’s agenda was a bill to lengthen Congress’ review period for D.C. laws passed by D.C.’s council and signed by its mayor. Currently, lawmakers have 30 days to block most measures and 60 days for criminal laws.
The proposal, from Arizona Representative Paul Gosar, would give Congress 60 days to review all local laws and let it overrule individual provisions.
Gosar told the committee that his bill would “promote efficient governance” by keeping the city council from passing laws similar to ones already disapproved by Congress and that it requires “accountability” from the D.C. government.
“Unfortunately, the D.C. Council has shown time and time again that it cannot be trusted to put public safety first,” the Arizona Republican said.
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s nonvoting delegate, warned the GOP bill would inject “chaos” into city lawmaking by blocking emergency orders and causing laws to “constantly” change.
Norton contended that the proposed legislation was “masquerading” as harmless congressional procedure and added, “It is, in fact, one of the biggest reductions in the District of Columbia's authority since Congress passed the Home Rule Act in 1973.”
As the Oversight Committee debate continued, Democrats accused Republicans of ignoring D.C. residents’ right to self-governance, while Republicans argued the nation's capital remains under Congress’ authority.
Louisiana Representative Clay Higgins pointed out that D.C. was in a “unique” legal position.
“You say that Washington, D.C. is unique, but Washington, D.C. is unique because you made it that way,” Missouri Representative Wesley Bell fired back. “[Y]ou continue to vote in a manner to keep it that way, to keep folks in D.C. from having statehood or enjoying the rights that other states enjoy."
Higgins later found himself in a heated debate with Florida Representative Maxwell Frost, as the Oversight Committee took up a measure aimed at codifying Trump’s March executive order standing up the D.C. beautification task force. Democrats had demanded to know whether Republicans coordinated with the White House to draft the legislation.
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