The DC City Council leader has written to Vice President Kamala Harris, seeking to withdraw legislation amending the city’s Criminal Code that should be reprimanded by the US Senate.
The sudden move came as more Democrats followed President Joe Biden’s lead after he signaled he would sign Republican legislation to block the measure — even as his administration reacted violently for going against its own admonitions to protect self-government in the city.
But there were indications that the last-ditch effort was likely to be unsuccessful and may have been conceived as an opportunity to try to change the outlook of the situation – with the vote going on anyway.
“Not only does the law not permit a revocation of a transfer, but at this time the privileged motion of Senate Republicans will act on the House resolution of rejection and not on the DC Council’s submission to the Senate,” a Senate executive assistant told Opposite : “We still expect the vote to take place.”
President Joe Biden said he would sign legislation that would block changes to a DC City Council bill to the Washington Criminal Code. The council leader wrote to VP Kamala Harris that he was withdrawing his submission of the bill to the Senate to avoid a vote on it, which his side was likely to lose
Washington DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson wrote Vice President Kamala Harris, in her position as President of the Senate, to communicate his decision to her, although it was not immediately clear that it was within her purview to make such a decision. The Home Rule Act for DC provides for Congressional review of local laws.
“I submit invoices and have not submitted this invoice,” Mendelson told local reporters. His letter said the effect was to “remove this bill from Congressional scrutiny.” Mendelson said the council, which supported the combined penal code amendments over Mayor Muriel Bowser’s objections, will amend the law and later bring it to Congress.
It was not initially clear what impact the move would have. Republicans eagerly awaited the opportunity to use the Senate vote to expose a rift between Democrats — likely to score a victory in the chamber and then watch Biden sign legislation that divided his coalition. With Biden’s stance known, the move should come by a comfortable margin, perhaps a veto-proof majority.
At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that “when the bill gets on the President’s desk, he will sign it.”
She also reiterated his support for statehood, even as she criticized the city’s stance on punishment for violent crimes and stood ready to override local government.
“He believes, and has for a while, that DC should be a 51 state,” she said. The move “doesn’t change the fact that he encourages Congress to pass legislation making DC a state, and he will sign it.”
DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announced Monday that he has withdrawn a controversial criminal code bill to prevent a Senate vote on it
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the changes, but the council overruled her
Mendelson wrote to Vice President Harris in her role as President of the Senate. Although it wasn’t clear she had the ability to stop a vote, an executive assistant said it was a privileged request to respond to a vote that had already taken place in the House
A Mendelson spokeswoman said that “we expect them to vote anyway, but we view it as nothing more than a token vote,” and that the law requires the city to submit bills to the Senate President and the Senate Majority Leader transmitted to the House of Representatives.
Medelson said, “An increasing number of Senate Democrats have said they either have not taken a position, which is never a good sign, or would support the override. So when the President said he wouldn’t veto, that means to me that there would probably be more senators who would join.’
His comments came after Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a member of her party’s leadership and not someone associated with the party’s moderate faction, indicated she would support the move to repeal the law. This indicated that the measure could well happen within a comfortable range, which could ease some of the pressure on Biden to sign.
Congress can do this under the Constitution, which gives it the administration of the federal city.
“Maybe it’s the optics, but within the optics is also the ability to find a way forward,” Mendelson said, arguing that changes to the city’s code are still needed.
The OMB’s administrative policy statement tore up the resolution, saying, “This taxation without representation and denial of self-government is an affront to the democratic values on which our nation was founded.”
“Our options are better if we do the math, and if Republicans decide to proceed with a hollow voice, that’s their choice,” he said.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was put on the defensive as House Democrats fumed over why the administration said it opposed the measure on city self-government grounds, just to let Biden have his say , he would sign them if it reached his desk.
“This is about next year’s campaign,” Mendelson said. “That’s what this is about, it’s about making videos that the so-and-so Senator voted to be soft on crime in the District of Columbia.”
“One thing the President believes in is making sure the streets of America and communities across the country are safe,” Jean-Pierre said. “This includes DC”
Her comment came after some House Democrats were furious after Biden announced he would sign the resolution after many of them voted against it.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN on Sunday he plans to speak privately with Biden about it.