The GOP-led House failed to override President Biden’s veto of a resolution that would have nullified the District’s policing reform law on Tuesday, to the delight of D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Norton said Biden was correct in vetoing the disapproval resolution and that Congress should leave decisions about local District laws to city residents.
“D.C.’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 is consistent with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, President Biden’s executive order on policing, and legislation enacted in dozens of states,” the venerable Democrat said. “Moreover, the disapproval resolution is a profoundly undemocratic and paternalistic piece of legislation. Almost 700,000 people live in the nation’s capital, and they are worthy and capable of governing their own local affairs.”
Norton hinted that the racial composition of the District may have something to do with the GOP’s constant meddling.
“From their behavior this Congress, I can only surmise that House Republicans disagree with me, believing instead that D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and brown, are incapable and unworthy of the same respect afforded to residents of their own districts,” she said. “I cannot emphasize strongly enough how offensive that notion is to my values, goals, and more than 30 years of work advocating for D.C. residents in Congress.”