Some prominent Democrats continue to support providing statehood to Washington, D.C., which despite its large population and the opportunity for its residents to be affected by decisions of the national government has no voting representatives in Congress.
Recently, the House, where Republicans are in control, considered a push for disapproval of recent moves enacted by the D.C. city council that would reform policing practices in the nation’s capital, including through banning chokeholds and other asphyxiating restraints potentially used by officers. The initiative, if left in place, would “make it easier to fire officers for misconduct; prohibit the hiring of officers with prior misconduct; require the release of the names and body-worn camera recordings of officers directly involved in an officer-involved death or serious use of force;” and more, per Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat currently serving as D.C.’s delegate to the House.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who despite departing party leadership in the chamber remains in her Congressional seat representing a district in the San Francisco area, also spoke against the idea of opposition to the D.C. council’s policy decisions. “What we do is respect their ability to make their own rules whether we like them or not,” Pelosi said Wednesday. “So the point is that this is sort of a gotcha kind of an amendment that I think is most unfortunate and unworthy of the debate on statehood and representation for the people in the District of Columbia who fight our wars, pay our taxes, contribute to the greatness of our country, but do not have representation in the Congress of the United States and fall victim to any criticism of their individual legislation.”
Relevant rules provide for a Congressional role in oversight of the policy moves undertaken by local leaders in D.C., and another round of similar scrutiny already unfolded in this Congress targeting criminal justice reforms in the district. During later questioning in Congress of a member of the D.C. city council, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) seemed potentially unaware of the vote the House itself had taken to, in fact, undo those reforms, speaking as though they’d been instead implemented. In this instance, President Biden evidently opposes any Congressional measure undoing the D.C. policing reforms, and since Republicans are only barely in control of the House with little else, it’ll end there.
