House GOP Using D.C. To Score Political Points As Biden White House Looks On

The District of Columbia has long been a favored object of Republican outrage, thanks to its special status, which gives Congress the last word on its laws.

In the past, Democrats in Congress and the White House have leapt to defend the city’s home rule, which was only established in 1973. But two recent attacks on that autonomy by House Republicans and the force with which the White House has pushed back may raise questions about that commitment.

In one case, the White House said it opposed a bill but stopped well short of threatening to veto it. In the other, the White House was officially silent.

“I was surprised” by the lack of a veto threat on a bill to limit the city’s right to change its criminal sentencing laws, Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-D.C.) told HuffPost.

In the arcane back-and-forth between the White House and Capitol Hill, the president can make it clear how much he dislikes a bill coming up for a vote. The official statements on where the administration stands on a particular bill can range from an outright threat that the president would definitely veto it if it got his desk to the less-vehement notice that his advisers would recommend a veto, leaving some leeway for milder forms of opposition.

These variations also serve as a signal to Democrats of how important it is that they vote in concert with the president’s position. Voting for something the president has said he’ll veto would likely be noted within any White House’s legislative affairs shop, Republican or Democratic.

Norton said she didn’t know why the White House didn’t issue a veto threat on the bill limiting the District of Columbia’s authority over its sentencing laws. In the end, the House voted 225 to 181 in favor of it, with 18 Democrats voting with 207 Republicans.

Norton condemned the bill and said about 50 bills with “anti-D.C. provisions” have been introduced so far in this Congress.

“D.C. laws are matters for the duly elected D.C. Council and mayor, not unaccountable members of Congress who do not represent D.C. residents. The almost 700,000 D.C. residents are worthy and capable of governing their own local affairs,” she said in a statement.

The district’s status and history give it particular importance for Democrats. Though Washington’s population is no longer majority African American, it retains the “Chocolate City” moniker from those days. And until home rule in 1973 allowed its residents to vote for a mayor and district council, it was the virtual fiefdom of a committee of Congress and had an appointed commissioner.

Norton serves as a non-voting delegate in the House, and the district’s residents have no representation in the Senate. Congress still retains veto power over all of the district’s proposed law changes, a power it exercised in March 2023 when it overturned a criminal code overhaul that Republicans disliked. President Joe Biden signed the reversal.

It was the first time in 30 years that Congress had directly rolled back a District of Columbia law.

Many Democrats felt they were left out to dry politically in that episode after the White House indicated it would oppose the bill, but Biden later told senators he would sign it. The bill saw 173 Democrats voting against it in the House prior to Biden’s reversal.

The sentencing bill and the criminal code overhaul were not the only bills limiting the district’s autonomy in the current Congress. On May 23, 52 Democrats joined with 210 Republicans to pass a bill that repealed a district law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections.

On that bill, the White House did not issue an official position for or against, one factor that probably played into the large amount of Democratic defections.

“It would have been good to have a veto threat issued,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a member, like Norton, of the Congressional Black Caucus. “I am not sure this will make it to his desk.”

Republicans said the bills were necessary corrections to bad policy in the District of Columbia. On the voting bill, its sponsor, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said, “My legislation restores the sanctity of the voting process and ensures that only American citizens are voting in our Nation’s capital.”

Non-citizens are already barred by federal law from voting in federal elections, and the district sought only to allow them to vote in local elections.

With the Senate in Democratic hands, it’s unlikely that either the sentencing bill or the voting one will advance beyond the House. Still, Black voters remain a crucial part of the Democratic base and Biden’s reelection campaign, as evidenced by Biden holding a rally Wednesday in Philadelphia to launch a “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” coalition. And being seen as soft on D.C.. could become a problem.

Though the White House’s defense of the District of Columbia may not be as aggressive as expected, Frost said he wasn’t too worried.

“I think the president has been really clear on what his beliefs are on this. He’s been one of the most vocal people also on ensuring home rule in D.C.,” he said.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), whose support was key to Biden’s campaign in 2020, also indicated he was unconcerned so far.

“While Congressional Republicans have been trying to distract from their inability to govern by attacking DC, Congressional Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration have time and again worked to preserve the District’s independence by voting against harmful policies,” Clyburn said in a statement to HuffPost.

“I recognize the historical context surrounding DC’s treatment and I am confident that President Biden is committed to addressing our long-standing concerns, including the treatment of DC residents,” he said.