The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed two measures aimed at tightening criminal penalties for young offenders in Washington, D.C., with most Democrats opposing both bills.
The first measure, the DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act, known as the DC CRIMES Act, passed 240-179. The vote reflected a near-party-line split: only 31 House Democrats voted in favor. The bill, led by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., would lower the maximum statutory age for youth offenders from 24 to 18 and would in most cases bar judges from imposing sentences below stated mandatory minimums for juvenile offenders.
A second bill, authored by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, would make juveniles as young as 14 eligible to be tried as adults for specified violent crimes. That measure, which covers offenses including murder, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree burglary, armed robbery and assault with intent to commit those offenses, was approved 225-203. Only eight Democrats voted with Republicans on that bill; Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against it.
Republican leaders framed the legislation as a response to what they described as permissive local policies. "It is clear to members of the Committee and the public that D.C.’s soft-on-crime policies have failed to keep D.C. residents and visitors safe," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in reference to the Donalds bill.
Democrats and D.C. officials rejected that characterization. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the measures insincere responses to public safety concerns. "Those aren't bills that are serious efforts to address public safety in the Washington, D.C., area," Jeffries said. The district's nonvoting House delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, also led opposition in Congress to the proposals.
The votes come days after a 30-day presidential emergency order that federalized the Metropolitan Police Department expired. President Donald Trump had invoked the order earlier this month and said on Monday he could extend federal involvement if necessary. "We have virtually no crime in D.C. right now, and we’re going to keep it that way. It’s our nation’s capital. We’re going to keep it that way or we’re going to federalize it if we have to," Trump told reporters.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has pushed back on some Republican characterizations of D.C. policing even as she took steps to cooperate with federal agencies. Bowser issued an order directing local police to work with several federal law enforcement bodies, while explicitly excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement from cooperation. She has acknowledged crime has declined since federal involvement earlier this month and is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee later this week.
The measures reflect Congress's broad authority over the District of Columbia, despite the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the city a degree of self-governance. Republicans have used that authority to advance legislation they say is needed to address a perceived rise in violence and juvenile crime; Democrats argue the bills undermine local control and do not reflect the district's public-safety needs.
Committee hearings and the scheduled testimony by Mayor Bowser are expected to keep the issue in the spotlight. Supporters of the bills say tougher penalties and lower ages for adult prosecution will deter serious violence; opponents say the reforms risk harshly penalizing youths and will strain relations between local leaders and the federal government.
The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, where its prospects are uncertain given the narrow margins in the House votes and the partisan division reflected on the floor.