House Oversight Committee grills DC leaders on crime in the city
DC city leaders testify in front on Congress on crime
It was a contentious day on Capitol Hill as D.C. leaders testified in front of the House Oversight Committee on crime in the city. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back on how lawmakers have characterized crime in the District, noting the most recent data that there has been a decrease. FOX 5's Bob Barnard has more.
WASHINGTON - It was a contentious day on Capitol Hill as D.C. leaders testified in front of the House Oversight Committee on crime in the city.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back on how lawmakers have characterized crime in the District, noting the most recent data that there has been a decrease.
The hearing was called to talk about crime and public safety in D.C. There was fiery debate about that but other matters were discussed as well.
Hours-long testimony :
Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb were the witnesses testifying today before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
This is the committee that voted out 14 bills last week—several having to do with public safety in D.C.
Much of the hearing, which began at 10 a.m. and went just past 3 p.m., was centered on the recent crime emergency called by President Donald Trump.
"Sending masked agents in unmarked cars to pick people up off the streets, flooding our neighborhoods with National Guardsman who are untrained in local policing, attempting a federal takeover of our police force—none of these are durable long-lasting solutions for driving down crime," Schwalb said.
D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith and other D.C. council members were in the hearing room as well. In her testimony, Bowser touted the fact that overall crime in the District is down 35% and violent crime down 53% compared to 2023.
Out of left field:
There were other issues the mayor was hit with that had nothing to do with crime and public safety. Some committee members brought up cultural issues like the Trump and Epstein files, the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show and even gender identity.
In an odd exchange, South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace asked Bowser, "what is a woman?"
Bowser fired back saying, "I am a woman. Are you a woman?"
"Ok, I’m a woman, you’re looking at one," Bowser went on to say.
"Ok, good," Mace responded. The Republican representative has been an outspoken opponent of rights for transgender individuals and members of the LGBTQ community in general.
Later comments:
After the hearing, Bowser slammed Republican’s characterization of D.C.
"Did the District have a crime spike in 2023? Yes. Have we driven down crime in the two years since? Yes. So to characterize the District as some dystopian hellhole is categorically false," Bowser said.
Newly-elected Virginia congressman James Walkinshaw is the newest member of the committee. and railed on republican efforts to strong-arm D.C.
The House is supposed to vote on a continuing resolution Friday that would restore $1.1 billion in funding for D.C.
The District would have spending authority over that money and the main impact would allow the city to go ahead with the just-approved 13% MPD pay raises earlier than it could have otherwise, helping to improve officer retention and overall public safety.