Poor messaging doomed D.C. crime-code rewrite, says Council Chairman Phil Mendelson

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Tuesday said city lawmakers didn’t do a good enough job of explaining a criminal-code overhaul that would weaken maximum penalties for some crimes and is on track to be rescinded by Congress as soon as Wednesday.

In an attempt to save face, Mr. Mendelson, a Democrat, tried on Monday to pull back the local law from Congress before the Senate votes to disapprove the law and President Biden signs the measure. 

Yet he defended the city’s decision to redo its criminal code, saying it needs an update...