House Passes Two Laws To Make Criminals In D.C. Be Charged As Criminals

I love the Washington Post headline

House votes to charge D.C. 14-year-olds as adults

They went with hyper-partisan fearmongering one, but, as usual, the devil is in the details. It’s also behind the paywall, so

House passes two DC crime bills focused on juvenile crime as part of bid to bolster Trump’s federal crackdown

CNN’s headline is also wackadoodle. Bolstering cracking down on crime? How dare Trump!

House Passes D.C. Crime Bills as Trump Crackdown Continues

Yeah, the NY Times isn’t much better. How dare Trump *checks notes* crack down on crime in the nation’s capital!

The Republican-led House on Tuesday passed legislation to allow stricter criminal penalties for younger offenders in the District of Columbia, moving to overhaul the city’s criminal justice system as President Trump continues his crackdown on the city.

The pair of bills, which both drew some support from Democrats, are part of a package House Republicans are pushing through this week to impose tighter federal control over Washington, as federal officers and the National Guard still patrol the streets and Mr. Trump threatens to again take over the local police force.

One measure would lower the age at which children accused of certain violent crimes can be charged as adults, from 16 years old to 14 years old. That would make them eligible for harsher sentences and adult prisons — a policy change Mr. Trump has called for. Several states have similar provisions, and eight Democrats joined Republicans to pass the measure by a 225-to-203 vote.

Most states have similar provisions. The problem now is that anyone under 16 could not be charged with a felony except in the most extreme cases, which is why roving gangs of 13, 14, and 15 year olds were stealing cars/carjacking throughout DC. They couldn’t be charged with anything. Jeanine Piro talked about 3 laws that were causing massive problems with crime, including those 22 and under.

The other would roll back a local law that allows judges to give more lenient sentences to people younger than 25, by lowering the limit on that law to 18 years old and requiring judges to adhere to mandatory minimums for youth offenders. Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill, 240 to 179.

Pretty much wiping out The Youth Rehabilitation Act and the Incarceration Reduction Act, which were majorly soft on crime. And, yes, the Congress can do this. In fact, they are ultimately responsible for any law passed by the DC “home rule”, because the Constitution puts Congress in charge of D.C. Period.

But unlike other cities, the District of Columbia is subject to significant federal oversight that allows Congress to review its legislation and rewrite its laws. The roughly 700,000 residents of the District, many of whom are Black, do not have a vote in Congress but are represented by a nonvoting House delegate, Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, who can serve on committees but cannot vote on bills.

The Paper of Record is unfamiliar with the Constitutional provision putting Congress in charge of D.C. No matter what power they give to the DC mayor and city council, as well as the Executive Branch, it all rolls uphill to Congress.

5140 was to lower the age. For HR4922, Dems apparently switched a lot of votes, because the final tally was 240-179, per Byron Donalds, who introduced the bill. Now they are on to the Senate: will Democrat block these?