Crime problems in Democrat-run cities sting Biden White House

Crime-related problems plaguing major Democrat-run cities such as Washington, D.C. have reached all the way to the White House.

President Biden said he plans to sign legislation that blocks Washington, D.C.'s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, a local bill that loosens sentencing for certain offenses amid a crime surge in the nation's capital.

The bill to overturn D.C.'s legislation passed in the Democrat-led Senate on Wednesday evening after having previously passed in the GOP-led House. 

Biden reportedly said he opposes lowering penalties for carjackings in particular. 

Following Biden's pledge to sign the bill rescinding the D.C. criminal reforms, the D.C. Council said it would withdraw its legislation, but the Senate moved forward to block the local bill anyway. 

The D.C. legislation eliminates the majority of mandatory sentences for violent crimes such as carjackings and robberies. 

Republicans have argued that lowering penalties for certain offenses like burglary is one of the reasons that crime has spiked in major cities like D.C.

"This joint resolution nullifies the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, enacted by the council of the District of Columbia (DC)," reads the text of the resolution approved by the House. "The act makes a variety of changes to DC criminal laws, including by providing statutory definitions for various elements of criminal offenses, modifying sentencing guidelines and penalties, and expanding the right to a jury trial for certain misdemeanor crimes."

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had vetoed the legislation, but the D.C. Council overrode the veto.

In Chicago, where there has been an uptick in criminal activity, Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection, which many observers have attributed to the rise in crime on her watch. The other candidates who beat Lightfoot in the primary made fighting crime a central part of their campaigns. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has faced tough questions about violent crime in his own city. 

Adams was asked if Lightfoot's defeat is a "warning sign" for New York City. 

"To the contrary, I think it's a warning sign for the country," he said. "Eric Adams has been talking about public safety, not only on the campaign trail but for the first year. I showed up at crime scenes. I knew what New Yorkers were saying, and I saw it all over the country. I think if anything, it is really stating that this is what I have been talking about. America. We have to be safe."