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yesterday

House Passes Four D.C. Crime Bills Reshaping Juvenile Justice and Local Control

Its fate is uncertain in a Senate where advancing the package would require Democratic defections under filibuster rules.

A Metropolitan Police Department officer directs a vehicle to a secondary inspection at a checkpoint in the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, DC, on August 28, 2025.
The Capitol is seen is seen as Senate Republicans work to pass President Donald Trump's bill of tax breaks and spending cuts by his July Fourth deadline, in Washington, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., tells reporters that Republicans are jeopardizing health care for Americans with their policies and their strategy to fund the government before the deadline at the end of the month, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A Washington Metropolitan Police Department patrol car stands watch near a Free DC protest in August.

Overview

  • On Tuesday, the House approved the DC CRIMES Act, 240-179, lowering the youth-offender ceiling from 24 to 18, curbing judges’ ability to go below mandatory minimums, and requiring public reporting of juvenile crime statistics, with 31 Democrats in support.
  • H.R. 5140 passed 225-203 on Tuesday, allowing certain 14-year-olds in Washington, D.C., to be tried as adults for specified violent offenses, with eight Democrats backing the measure and one Republican opposed.
  • On Wednesday, the House passed the District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act, 218-211, granting the president sole authority to nominate D.C. judges by eliminating the city’s Judicial Nomination Commission.
  • Also Wednesday, lawmakers approved the District of Columbia Policing Protection Act, 245-182, expanding vehicle pursuit authority for D.C. police, with 29 Democrats voting in favor.
  • D.C. leaders and many Democrats decried the measures as federal overreach into home rule, as National Guard support and federal–local law enforcement coordination continue and House Oversight prepares to question Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city officials.