McConnell knocks DC officials over crime in city

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday called out local officials in Washington, D.C., for recent spikes in crime in the city. 

Speaking from the Senate floor, McConnell noted the recent rise in crime in major U.S. cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and his hometown of Louisville, Ky. 

“Streets, neighborhoods, and cities across our country are being swamped by a level of crime that is unsafe, uncivilized and unacceptable,” McConnell said in his speech. “My hometown of Louisville, Ky., saw 10 homicides in just the first 10 days of 2023, and already five more since then.” 

McConnell also spoke about what he called a recent crime wave in D.C., referring to it as a “free for all” and noting the rise in the city’s homicide rate and recent carjackings that have been reported in the city, including one in which Capitol Police officers on Wednesday arrested two 18-year-olds who were tied to a number of armed vehicle thefts in a neighboring county. 

Capitol Police said in a news release that the two suspects were arrested by authorities after hiding in an outdoor restaurant freezer. They face a number of charges. 

“Yet the D.C. City Council here is so completely captured by the woke far left, they have responded to this crime wave with a new criminal code that reduces penalties even further!” McConnell said, also noting how the D.C. Council voted 12-1 to override a veto from Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) last week, pushing forward reforms to the criminal code that will create sweeping changes.

The bill will take effect in 2025, according to CBS affiliate WUSA. 

“Last week, the Council overrode the mayor’s veto and pushed through a measure that shreds the maximum punishment for gun crimes. It eliminates almost all mandatory minimum sentences,” McConnell added. “It will clog up the court system with massive expansions of new jury trials for misdemeanors.”

“Well, the good news on this front is that the United States Congress gets to have the final word over reckless local policies from the D.C. government. Senate Republicans will have a lot more to say on this subject. Stay tuned,” McConnell concluded.