President Biden will veto legislation put forward by House Republicans to repeal Washington D.C.’s police reform bill should it cross his desk, the White House said on Thursday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said while Mr. Biden does not agree with all measures included in the city’s police reform legislation, crafted in response to the death of George Floyd in May 2020, “he will not support Republican efforts to overturn common sense police reforms.”
“Congress should respect D.C.’s rights to pass measures that improve public safety and public trust,” she said. “The president will veto this resolution if it reaches his desk.”
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee voted 21-17 on Wednesday to advance a measure to rescind the District of Columbia law that was transmitted to Congress in January.
Congress retains the power to block laws put forward by the city council during a mandatory review period.
Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, said the city has “deteriorated and declined” across the board in recent years, leaving Congress with no choice but to step in and restore public safety in the nation’s capital.
SEE ALSO: Congress must fight D.C.’s ‘shocking’ crime trend, says Rep. James Comer
“The crime statistics alone are shocking,” the Kentucky Republican said at a rare oversight hearing that hauled city leaders to Capitol Hill. “Just days ago, 14 men were shot in 10 separate incidents within a 27-hour span in Washington, D.C.”
Republicans said the policing overhaul put forward by the city council will only exacerbate crime in the city and make it tougher for police to do their job.
Democrats opposed the resolution, signaling that Republicans will have a hard time replicating their successful effort to block a D.C. overhaul of the criminal code that would have weakened maximum penalties for carjacking and other crimes.
Many Democrats supported the resolution, and President Biden decided not to veto it, underscoring fears of being painted as soft on crime.
Yet committee Democrats said Republicans are going too far with their oversight, focusing on crime statistics in the District while violence is on full display across the country, including in Nashville, Tennessee, the site of a deadly school shooting Monday.
Ms. Jean-Pierre declined to weigh in on the specific provisions contained in the police reform bill that Mr. Biden takes issue with, but said community trust in the police is integral.
“Trust should be at the center of this as we’re talking about police reform,” she said.
— Tom Howell, Jr. contributed to this story.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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