US: Washington DC council withdraws review of criminal justice reform legislation

The city council of Washington DC penned a letter to the US Senate this week to withdraw the controversial legislation that would make changes to the capital’s criminal justice reform. The move comes as the Democrat-controlled Senate is expected to vote against the bill.

On Monday, the Washington DC city council told reporters at a news conference that it has decided to withdraw the bill from review by Congress. The US Constitution grants Congress oversight over Washington, DC. The Democrat-led council passed such reforms back in November. The reforms included lowering or eliminating the mandatory minimum sentences for certain violent crimes, which proponents of the bill hoped could address issues of racial bias and mass incarceration in the country’s criminal justice system.

“It’s clear that Congress is intending to override that legislation,” said Washington DC city council chair Phil Mendelson. “My letter – just as I transmit bills for their review – withdraws from consideration the review.”

Mendelson noted that withdrawing the legislation for review meant that “the clock stops” on any congressional consideration of the reforms to the capital.

“This will enable the council to work on the measure in light of congressional comments and to retransmit it later,” said Mendelson. “I will say I don’t know that that will stop the Senate Republicans, but our position is that the bill is not before Congress any longer.”

The reforms have been criticized by congressional Republicans and some Democrats, saying that the capital may be “soft on crime,” as the issue of crime is expected to be a major election issue in the 2024 races. President Joe Biden previously said that while he supports DC’s statehood and self-governance, he will not stop Congress from overturning the reforms.

On Tuesday, a Justice Department official urged a panel to comply with a congressional directive to increase prison sentences for straw purchasers of guns, despite concerns that such a move may disproportionately affect Black people. Arizona federal prosecutor Gary Restaino told a bipartisan panel in Washington DC that increasing the penalties of straw purchasers of guns “reflect the danger their conduct poses to public safety.”