WASHINGTON (AP) — DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday defended his policy towards Congress as president Donald Trump’s The surge in law enforcement is in the second month, and the lawmakers’ law I will limit it further The authority of the city.
She was invited to the House Committee on Surveillance and Government Reform to answer questions about crime in the country’s capital. Last month, Trump issued an emergency order that federalizes city police stations and launches a surge in law enforcement. The emergency order expired earlier this month However, federal agencies and the National Guard continue their operations in the city.
Bowser listed the city’s achievements in reducing crime and acknowledged that federal interventions have strengthened these achievements.
“Crimes are too many crimes,” Bowser said. “But we’re heading in the right direction.”
Bowser leads the city when district autonomy is being challenged in ways never seen before. Home Rules Act 1973grants autonomy to the district. Federal leaders maintain significant control over local operations, including approval of budgets and laws passed by the DC Council.
The committee chair condemned Bowser and other officials regarding crime.
Committee Chairman James Commer has held hearings on a recent series of crimes, denounced Bowser and other city officials for DC crime. Many of these are crimes that involve current and former Congressional staff members, including the fatal shooting of Congressional intern Eric Tarpinian Jachim.
“These high crime rates are driven primarily by historically high juvenile crime rates, which were made possible by the ultra-development, soft crime policy enacted by the DC Council and supported by the DC Attorney General,” he said.
Comer also spoke about other changes to the DC Act that eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes, as well as changes that restricted local police from pursuing criminals.
“Officers are unable to perform their duties effectively and leave morale, retention and recruitment numbers at historic lows at the Metro Police Station,” he said. “These actions mean that all signals can be sent to criminals, especially juveniles, and they can commit crimes in the district without accountability.”
Trump touts the surge in law enforcement as a serious success in lowering the city’s crime rates. However, the data showed that crime had already declined before federal intervention.
The city’s crime was a central theme for Republicans, including Trump, who declared a state of emergency in August due to what he described as “stigma” and a controlled crime. Trump threatened to issue another emergency order if he complied with her promise not to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
The bill restructures DC’s criminal justice system
During the hearing, the tone of questions from committee members was dependent on the affiliation of the parties. Democrats defended leaders of district leaders.
The appearance of Bowser before the committee came a day after the House passed the law of what would be a major restructuring of the district’s criminal justice system.
Bill in question – including leaving the committee last week to lower the age of a boy being accused of criminal adults from 16 to 14, and eliminating the role of the DC in choosing a judge and leaving it to the president alone. The House Rules Committee passed a group of the same bill on Monday, with the House of Representatives endorsing the measure and approved the bill.
The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate filibuster, but it is one of the most comprehensive crime packages to advance in Congress in recent memory.
DC Council President Phil Mendelson also said at the hearing that Washington is “a city under siege.”
“After seeing this committee discussion, it is frustrating to vote on 14 bills on the district without a single hearing.
D.C. Attorney Brian Schwarb filed the lawsuit Challenge federal interventiondefended his record of indicting juvenile crimes.
The hearing included discussions on DC’s diversity, equality and inclusion programs, reparations, and how femininity is defined. This reflects how the Congress controls the authority to control broad aspects of the capital’s daily work.
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace pushed Bowser over a set of social policies and languages she opposed in the district’s legal code. She argued that they were responsible for federal intervention in cities and said she has put in place laws to address them.
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