DC mayor defends her crime policies to a House committee

WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday defended her policies to Congress as President Donald Trump's law enforcement surge is in its second month and lawmakers act to further limit the city's authority. She was invited to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to answer questions about crime in the nation's capital. Trump issued an emergency order last month that federalized the city's police department and launched a surge of law enforcement. The emergency order expired earlier this month but federal agencies and the National Guard continue their operations in the city. Bowser listed off the city's accomplishments in reducing crime, acknowledging that the federal intervention had enhanced those achievements. "Any crime is too much crime," Bowser said. "But we're trending in the right direction." Bowser is leading the city at a time when the district's self-governance is being challenged in ways never before seen since the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the district some autonomy. Federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C council. Committee chair Rep. James Comer berated Bowser and other city officials for D.C. crime, opening the hearing with a litany of recent offenses, many of them crimes involving current and former congressional staff members, including the fatal shooting of Congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym. "These high crime rates are largely driven by historically high rates of juvenile crime, which were enabled by ultra-progressive, soft on crime policies enacted by the D.C. Council and supported by the D.C. Attorney General," he said. Comer also talked about other changes in D.C. law that had eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes as well as changes that restricted local police from pursing criminals. "Officers cannot execute their duties as effectively, leaving morale, retention and recruitment numbers at historic lows for the Metro Police Department," he said. "These actions send every signal to criminals, especially juveniles, that they can commit crimes in the district without accountability." Trump has touted the law enforcement surge as a resounding success in driving down the city's crime rate — an assertion Bowser has supported. But data showed that crime was already falling before the federal intervention. The city's crime has been a central theme for Republicans, including Trump, who proclaimed the emergency in August because of what he described as "disgraceful" and out of control crime. Trump has threatened to issue another emergency order if Bowser follows through on her promise to not cooperate with immigration enforcement. At the hearing, the tone of questions from members of the committee depended on party affiliation. Democrats defended the leadership of the district's leaders. Bowser's appearance before the committee came one day after the House passed the legislation of what would be a major realignment of the district's criminal justice system. The bills in question — including lowering the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults for some crimes to 14 from 16, as well as eliminating D.C.'s role in selecting judges and leaving that solely to the president, passed out of the committee last week. The House Rules Committee passed the same group of bills on Monday and the House, with a number of Democrats supporting the measures, approved the bills. The bills are not likely to get through the Senate filibuster but they are among the most comprehensive crime packages to advance in Congress in recent memory. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, also the hearing, said Washington was "a city under siege." "It is frustrating to watch this committee debate and vote on 14 bills regarding the district without a single public hearing, with no input from district officials or the public without regard for community impact, nor a shred of analysis, including legal sufficiency or fiscal impact bills," he said. He called on Congress to help instead, by better resourcing prison-related organizations, fill judicial vacancies and allow the D.C. attorney general to prosecute misdemeanors, which are often overlooked by the U.S. Attorney.