The White House said Monday that President Biden would veto a GOP-driven resolution to rescind a D.C. police overhaul that passed in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
The statement of administration policy sends a clear signal to House lawmakers ahead of a midweek vote on the disapproval resolution written by Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican who is exercising Congress’ constitutional powers to block local bills viewed by some as detrimental to public safety in the nation’s capital.
Mr. Biden enraged House Democrats by saying he opposed a previous Clyde effort to rescind an overhaul of the District’s criminal code, only to later declare he wouldn’t veto the disapproval resolution.
The White House said Mr. Biden doesn’t agree with every aspect of the police overhaul but he approves of key provisions, including a ban on chokeholds, limits on the use of force and deadly force, improved access to body-worn camera recordings and requiring officers to be trained on de-escalation and use of force.
“Congress should respect the District of Columbia’s right to pass measures that improve public safety and public trust,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said. “The president also continues to call on Congress to pass common sense police reform legislation.”
The D.C. police overhaul effort began in the wake of Floyd’s police-involved death in Minneapolis in 2020 and was transmitted to Congress in a final bill in January.
SEE ALSO: D.C. crime would subside if Virginia tackled gun trafficking, District leader says
The city’s police union opposes the bill, saying it has hurt recruitment and led to an exodus of officers.
House GOP leaders have scheduled a Wednesday vote on Mr. Clyde’s disapproval resolution.
Many Democrats, fearful of being painted as soft on crime, rallied behind the previous effort to kibosh a D.C. criminal-code overhaul that weakened maximum penalties for things like carjacking in the capital.
With Mr. Biden sending a clear veto threat this time, the resolution targeting the D.C. police bill will likely face a harder time getting through the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Mr. Clyde said the president’s veto threat will not deter him “in the fight to make our nation’s capital safe for all Americans.”
“I urge the president and congressional Democrats to join our effort — as they did with my previous resolution to block the soft on crime Revised Criminal Code Act,” he said. “Public safety is not a partisan issue, but a commonsense one.”
SEE ALSO: Two boys charged in robbery, burglary and theft incidents throughout D.C.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.