Senate plows forward with vote on crime bill despite DC Council backpedal
Rachel Schilke
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The Senate is still planning to vote on the Washington, D.C., criminal code despite efforts from the district council chairman to withdraw the bill to prevent its overhaul.
“Not only does the statute not allow for a withdrawal of a transmission, but at this point the Senate Republican privileged motion will be acting on the House disapproval resolution, rather than the DC Council’s transmission to the Senate,” a Senate leadership aide said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “We still expect the vote to occur.”
DC COUNCIL CHAIRMAN WITHDRAWS CRIMINAL CODE BILL TO STALL VOTE
In response to the Senate’s decision to push forward, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the council will view the vote as nothing other than “symbolic.”
“The Senate Republicans may insist they’re voting on the House referral, but the bill is no longer properly before the Senate, as the law requires it be submitted to both houses. We view this as nothing more than a symbolic vote,” Mendelson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Mendelson announced on Monday that he sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris withdrawing the crime bill, called the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022.
He had admitted earlier on Monday that there was no precedent involving the D.C. Council withdrawing a bill from Congress but said there was nothing in the Home Rule Act that prevented him from doing so.
“The Home Rule Act is very clear that I transmit, and there is not a prohibition on my pulling it back,” Mendelson said to reporters. “This law will not go into effect because I have pulled it back.”
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GOP efforts to overturn the bill, which lessens penalties for certain crimes, including robberies and homicides, proved successful in the House in early February. The bill was then sent to the Senate, where it was expected to be overturned, as well.
Biden announced last week that if Congress voted to overturn the district’s criminal code, he would sign it — a decision likely influenced by pressure on both the president and Democrats to tackle crime. If he does not, it will be the first veto of his presidency.