D.C. is a 'ripe target' for Republicans in the House trends now
Republican hardliners in the House could aim their fire at Washington D.C., going after the city's legalization of marijuana, its abortion clinics, and its ability to self-govern.
The Democratic-led capitol city has long been a GOP target due to its high crime rate and past financial corruption. And now their job may have gotten easier under a deal conservatives cut with Kevin McCarthy in exchange for their support of his bid to become House speaker.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Norton Holmes told DailyMail.com that Republicans' rule in the House marks a 'very dangerous time for the District of Columbia.'
'The district is a ripe target,' she said in a phone interview on Monday. 'We are in great danger with Republicans in charge.'
Republicans in the House could target Washington D.C., going after the city's legalization of marijuana, its abortion clinics, and its ability to self-govern
'The district is a ripe target,' D.C. Delegate Eleanor Norton Holmes told DailyMail.com. 'We are in great danger with Republicans in charge'
The GOP deal includes a promise for standalone votes on each of the 12 appropriations bills that fund the government. The bills would be considered under an 'open rule,' which allows amendments from any lawmaker.
The District of Columbia is the only city in America under the jurisdiction of Congress as called for in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Under McCarthy's deal, a lawmaker, theoretically, could attach an amendment - known as a 'rider' - to any budget bill that would target the District.
Such a move would hurt the bill's passage because many Democrats wouldn't support it.
But if the budget bills aren't passed, the federal government shuts down.
That could leave Democrats between the rock and the hard place of having to weigh a government shutdown against Republicans trying to roll back abortion access or criminalizing marijuana.
Even with Democrats in control of the Senate and President Joe Biden able to wield the veto pen, the question remains over what the party would do when it comes to preventing a shutdown, particularly on an issue that only affects the deep-blue D.C.
Past riders on budget bills that have passed included ones that bans D.C. from using local funds to subsidize abortions for low-income women and blocked marijuana sales, making pot legal in the city to possess but not sell.
Biden signed budgets that included both of those measures.
Washington D.C., like many cities, saw a spike in crime during the COVID pandemic. Metropolitan police data shows the district saw a 29% spike in violent crime last year.
And carjackings in the District soared from 142 in 2019 to 426 in 2021. Additionally, lawmakers have noticed the increase in homeless people sleeping around the Capitol area.
Conservative Republicans have been threatening to target Washington D.C. because of the high rates of crime and
