House approves bills to reshape DC’s criminal justice system

The House passed two bills to overhaul juvenile justice in Washington, D.C., deepening clashes over local control and raising alarms about federal overreach in minority-led cities.

The House passed legislation Tuesday that would overhaul how youth who commit crimes are prosecuted in the District of Columbia as congressional Republicans mobilized behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.

One of the bills, called the “DC Crimes Act,” would lower the age of a youth offender in the federal district from 24 to 18 and require that criminal sentencing be at least as long as the mandatory minimums for adults, overruling local D.C. policy. It would also require the D.C. attorney general to establish a public website that would publish statistics on youth criminal acts.

The bill passed 240-179, with 30 Democrats joining Republicans in support.

A second bill, the D.C. Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act passed by a narrower 225-203 margin, with eight Democrats backing the measure and one Republican — Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voting against it.

Massie was the lone Republican to oppose both bills.

The debate over D.C.’s laws comes as the district’s self-governance is being challenged in ways never before seen since the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973. Thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers are patrolling the city’s streets, thanks to a now-lapsed emergency order from Trump. Republicans have cheered the intervention and criticized how the city is run.

The city filed a lawsuit challenging that National Guard intervention. Late Tuesday the administration entered a filing asking that a temporary injunction sought by the district be denied and the case be dismissed, partially on the grounds that the mayor has acknowledged the success of the actions. Twenty-three states weighed in on the lawsuit in support of the administration and 22 are behind the district.

Still, the latest slate of D.C. legislation has an uncertain future in the Senate, where some Democratic support would be needed. Democrats have criticized Trump’s aggressive intervention in the city’s governance and affairs and have defended the ability of residents in the nation’s capital to govern themselves.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, said Trump is “constantly attacking what Republicans used to call a small government and deciding to be the biggest government that you can find. It’s truly shameful.”

Crockett added she believed the White House and House Republicans’ actions are “only a precursor, a precursor for everything that he wants to do in other minority-led cities.”

Republicans have countered that the Constitution specifically excludes the federal district from statehood and have offered a range of reasons for why Congress should exercise its authority to override the local government.

Speaking on the floor during the debate on the juvenile justice bill, Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, emphasized the stricter guidelines would be for “serious crimes, including murder.” He added that D.C.’s definition of a juvenile is “seven years higher” than in other cities.

Criminal justice advocates questioned why the House would involve itself in the affairs of the District, especially criminal justice matters that have been studied and researched.

Darby Hickey, senior policy counsel with DC Justice Lab, said the overall view is Congress’ actions are “fundamentally against American values, which state that the people get to elect their representatives, who will govern and make the laws.” Congress, she said, is “usurping our ability to make our own laws.”

Misty Thomas Zaleski, executive director at Council for Court Excellence, pointed at a different Republican proposal that would eliminate the Judicial Nomination Commission and replace the members with all presidential appointees. She said the commission has worked successfully in a bipartisan way for 50 years.

“Congress is not the expert in what’s needed to address these multifaceted problems that exist in the district,” she said.

Ankit Jain, D.C.’s shadow senator, said the focus now will be Senate Democrats. “We will be working aggressively to talk to Senate Democrats and make the case to them why they should vote no on these bills,” he said. One message will be D.C. is only the start. “If this succeeds, then Republicans will see that this strategy works, that they can go after a lot of the laws in blue cities and unite their party and divide the Democratic Party.”

The House is expected to take up two more D.C. criminal justice related bills Wednesday.

While Washington residents are able to elect their own mayor, council and other officials, that self-governance has it limits. Congress maintains authority over laws passed by the D.C. council and it can impose its own laws and restrictions. Congress also controls the D.C. budget even though the budget is generated by local tax revenue.

Earlier this year the House cut $ 1.1 billion out of the city’s budget.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, called on the money for D.C. to be restored.

“It never should have been ripped away,” he said.