Joe Biden says he will sign bill overriding D.C.'s new crime law that reduces sentences

President Joe Biden said Thursday he will sign a Republican-backed resolution that would override the District of Columbia's controversial new rewrite of its criminal sentencing laws despite his administration's initial opposition to congressional intervention.

His signature would allow Congress to overturn a D.C. bill for the first time in 30 years, marking a rare moment of Biden clashing with local leaders of the nation's capital he backs making the 51st state.

"I support D.C. statehood and home-rule," Biden said in a statement, "but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings. If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it."

The D.C. City Council late last year approved a new local criminal code that includes the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for many crimes and the reduction of maximum sentences for crimes such as robbery and burglary. 

The council, which leans strongly to the left, overrode a veto from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat and Biden ally, who raised concerns about lighter sentences for crimes.

The local ordinance's passage followed two decades of efforts to redo D.C.'s crime laws. It faced immediate criticism from Republicans, who have hammered Democrats as soft on crime in recent years. Washington had its highest number of murders in 2022 in nearly 20 years.