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House GOP kicks off week of nonsense by trying to punish residents of D.C. [1]

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Date: 2023-02-06  

Last fall, the D.C. Council passed a new criminal code, the first major overhaul of the code since 1901. It eliminates most mandatory minimum sentences, reduces the maximum penalties for some felonies, and allows for jury trial in misdemeanor cases. It would go into effect in 2025, if Congress doesn’t overrule it. The Council also adopted a measure to allow the more than 50,000 noncitizens residing in the city to vote in local elections. Of course the House GOP, and no few Senate Republicans, want to overturn that, too.

Congress can do that because it is ultimately in control of the District. There’s a 30-legislative day review period in which Congress can disapprove of bills passed by D.C. lawmakers. Delegate Eleanor Homes Norton has proposed legislation to do away with that review, but that’s clearly not going to advance in this Congress. Luckily for all the people who are taxed without representation in the District, the Senate is not likely to take up these House disapproval resolutions.

So is this all a colossal waste of House time to prove that they are fundamentally white supremacists who want to take the nation back to the 19th century? Yes, it is. As will be this whole session of for the House with the GOP in charge.

To wit, also on tap for them this week, an Oversight hearing featuring former Twitter executives focusing on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Because of course. Also the first hearing of the select “Weaponization” committee, which so far hasn’t said what the hearing will be about or who they might try to get to testify.

Over on the Senate side, they finally got their organizing resolutions passed for the majority and minority membership on committees. Republicans had dragged it out for the whole month of January basically because they could.

One fun thing came of that, though. At the last minute, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell yanked the seat of his rival pain in the ass Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on the powerful Commerce Committee, and didn’t give him another assignment.

They are out Monday, returning Tuesday to begin the process of voting on the first judicial nomination for the 118th Congress, DeAndrea Benjamin, to be U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the 4th Circuit. They will likely hold the cloture vote Tuesday, and have the final vote before the end of the week.

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