It seems cities far and wide are reforming their criminal laws, inevitably catering to criminals and those who apparently care little about breaking our laws. But in a surprising turn of events, President Joe Biden isn’t nearly as supportive of those changes as he once was, at least not in Washington, DC.
Of course, it’s not really surprising that Biden might flip on big issues like this. After all, he has done that too many times to count in recent years. However, this time, it is noted that his flip is one that will turn more than a few in his own party against him.
It all started in January when the District of Columbia City Council unanimously voted to pass a bill that would make some violent crimes, such as robberies and carjackings, not so criminal, or at least reduce the penalties for such.
It’s part of a bigger movement that, if agreed upon by Congress and Biden, could give DC its statehood.
But DC Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill shortly after the council passed it. Of course, given that the council was unanimous in wanting it to be implemented as law, they overrode her veto, according to reports from The Hill.
However, because DC is not a state, all proposed legislation for the area has to be approved by Congress and then the president before actual law changes can be implemented. And last month, the House voted against it in a 250-173 vote to block it from becoming law.
As The Hill noted, while most Democrats voted against the measure, meaning they like the proposed law and want it made into reality, since their party no longer has the majority, the 31 Democratic caucus members who voted for the block along with the GOP, were enough to hamstring the legislation.
Now, given that the Senate has yet to vote on it, nothing is set in stone yet. Should the Senate vote not to block the measure as the House did, the legislation could be amended slightly and sent back through the House for a pass.
But what makes this a bit unlikely is that Biden has already indicated that he’d be willing to block it as well, so long as the Senate does. The block is expected to be voted on soon. And if the Senate votes as the House did, Biden says, “if the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.”
According to Biden, or at least a tweet made on his official account, he is still very much for DC statehood and “home-rule.” However, he doesn’t support a number of things the DC council’s bill would change, such as “lowering penalties for carjackings.”
Naturally, the 173 Dems who voted against the block and did support those changes are not at all thrilled with Biden or the White House at present.
In fact, a few reached out to The Hill with some rather irate statements on the subject.
One Dem lawmaker insisted, “The White House f***ed this up royally.”
That same individual later said they were so upset because they voted against the block, believing that was what the White House wanted.
And now we are being hung out to dry. …F***ING AMATUER HOUR. HEADS SHOULD ROLL OVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE OVER THIS.”
Another Democrat said they were “EXTREMELY pissed” at Biden’s decision to back the block.
Of course, those like liberal Representative Pramila Jayapal, who doesn’t care so much about anonymity, said she was “deeply disappointed.”
But what’s done is done.
The question now is whether or not the Senate will actually back the block or not.
As you likely know, the slim majority the Dems hold in the Senate has been all but obliterated by the recent hospitalizations of two Democratic senators, Diane Feinstein of California, who has shingles, and Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman was recently diagnosed with clinical depression.
This makes the balance of power 49-49. And Dem Senator Joe Manchin, a near-constant swinger, has already stated that he would support the block.
Let’s just say things aren’t looking so good for the City Council’s bill.
