'I don't support it': Manchin will vote against new DC revision reducing penalties on violent crime

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will join Senate Republicans in opposing a policy being pushed by Washington D.C. city council members to reduce penalties on violent crimes in the district.

In January, the District of Columbia City Council voted to force through revisions of the district's criminal code in an effort to soften and reduce penalties on violent crimes, even for those accused of violent crimes like murder or sexual assault. 

"I don’t support it. I mean, I want to put people away, I don’t want to let them out," Manchin told CNN of the revision Monday. "I haven’t been briefed on it, but what I know about it, I would vote to rescind it."

"None of that makes sense to me," the senator, who is up for re-election in 2024, told the outlet.

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U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) delivers remarks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. November 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

All Senate Republicans are expected to support the rejection of the policy, a proposal to lighten penalties for crimes including robbery and carjackings, but they need to acquire enough votes to get the measure to President Joe Biden's desk.

"I would rescind letting people out," he said of reducing penalties for convicted felons, stating that criminals "know what they can get by with all over the country."

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Mayor Muriel Bowser initially vetoed the Revised Criminal Code Act, but the city council overrided the Democrat in a unanimous vote. 

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser  (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post)

With the Metropolitan Police Department reporting crime up 22% from last year in the District of Columbia, Congress stepped in to use its executive power to defeat the proposal. 

According to Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has power to "exercise exclusive Legislation" over the District of Columbia. The House, including all Republicans and thirty-one Democrats, voted 250-173 in favor of the disapproval resolution.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., one of the House Democrats to oppose the D.C. city council, was recently assaulted at her Washington D.C. apartment complex by a man who had already been arrested several times for indecent exposure, assaulting a police officer, shoplifting, and breaking and entering.

Democrat Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was attacked in D.C. by a repeat offender who reportedly had 12 known assaults before the congresswoman. (Angie Craig/Handout)

In a speech following the incident, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Senate Democratic leadership to "put partisanship aside" when voting to oppose the revision, because "the safety and security of our citizens cannot wait."

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"When the soft-on-crime local government has become this incompetent; when members of Congress can’t go about their daily lives without being attacked; when families cannot come to visit their own capital in safety; then it is high time the federal government provides some adult supervision," McConnell said.