Why does the District of Columbia lack autonomous rule?

The answer is offered by the recently failed endeavor of an amended criminal code. It was less an attempt to modernize the existing body of law and more of an ideological ratification of wokeness. It repealed most minimum mandatory sentencing, dramatically cut punishments for select major felonies, and reinstated jury trials for misdemeanors. It was a classic example of the council's habit of engaging in virtue signaling.

The lion's share of the legislation approved by the D.C. Council in recent years either favored the criminal element or has been highly detrimental to law enforcement. As if the city's rapidly rising crime rate wasn't already frightening enough, the enacting of this bill would have provided even more incentive for criminality to flourish. That is why the big brother federal government had to step in. The fact that Congress had to use its veto power to override the revised criminal code shows that the city cannot be counted on to responsibly self-govern.

The District of Columbia was granted limited self-government under the Home Rule Act of 1973, but Congress retained the power to veto any legislation passed by the city council. This lack of full autonomy has frustrated some city residents and local leaders, who believe they should have complete control over the district's affairs. Opponents of statehood, on the other hand, argue that Washington, D.C., is unique in its status as the federal government's seat and that granting statehood would upset the balance of power between the federal government and the states.

Regardless, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has summoned district government officials to appear on Capitol Hill next Wednesday. The goal of this hearing is to gain insight as to why such a soft-on-crime bill would be pursued all while criminal activity is increasingly rampant. The explanations will almost certainly be typical bureaucratic doublespeak. Still, it will be engaging and perhaps morbidly entertaining political theater. 

Top line: federal supervision will be with Washington, D.C., residents for the foreseeable future. If the city ever truly desires the capacity to govern itself, it must first show some rationality in how it handles real-world issues like crime. It must allow the police to enforce the law. The D.C. Council's appalling track record here, particularly in the past two years, only validates the argument that the district cannot be fully trusted to self-govern at this time.

David J. Terestre served as a sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department and is a nationally published author on policing issues.