In the wake of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., Florida Congressman Byron Donalds (R) has motioned to reintroduce the D.C. Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C. CRIMES) Act.
The bill addresses juvenile crime by lowering D.C.'s definition of a “youth” from 24 years old to under 18, resulting in individuals 18 and older properly treated and tried as adults, aligning itself with the rest of the country.
It also eliminates judicial discretion that lets youth offenders receive sentences below the mandatory minimum for a crime and prohibits the D.C. Council from enacting any additional changes to D.C.’s mandatory minimum sentences and sentencing guidelines.
Donalds argued that the nation’s capital has been “too soft on crime” and D.C.’s current situation is a result of “weak leadership.”
"For far too long, our nation’s capital has been plagued by an epidemic of violence due to the soft-on-crime policies of far-left, local leaders. Weak leadership by anti-cop radicals gives rise to chaos, and the reign of terror unleashed on innocent residents and visitors of our nation’s capital must end now.” Donalds said in a press conference. “Congress has a constitutional responsibility to oversee the District of Columbia, and it's imperative that we act quickly to assert our control when the local government fails to do its job. The American people deserve better, and I will not stand idly by while our capital city devolves into chaos. My DC CRIMES Act will restore law and order to the District.”
In an interview on Fox News’s “The Faulkner Focus,” Donalds further slammed D.C.’s local government for prioritizing “woke criminal justice reform policies that simply do not work.”
The Florida congressman pointed to the recent carjackings of Reps. Angie Craig and Henry Cuellar, as evidence that the city is unsafe and in need of criminal and judicial reform.
The district’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, remains on the fence regarding Trump’s takeover, calling his actions “authoritarian” while also acknowledging the potential benefits that more law enforcement can bring to the U.S. capital.
