参议院共和党人和一些民主党同事一起，可能很快会将法案送到乔·拜登总统的办公桌上撤销变更华盛顿特区的刑法这遭到了该地区市长的反对，但得到了市议会的压倒性支持。
由田纳西州共和党参议员比尔·哈格蒂领导的参议院立法将撤销新通过的一揽子计划，其中包括扩大陪审团审判的要求，减轻对包括抢劫和劫车在内的一些暴力犯罪的处罚，同时增加对其他犯罪的处罚。
所谓的犯罪法案，由当地官员制定了超过16年，并于去年由市议会一致通过，受到了华盛顿一些立法者和活动人士的抨击，包括市长穆里尔·布瑟，一名民主党人。
根据特区的独特地位，国会对其法律拥有最终管辖权。
国会共和党人表示，新刑法将恶化美国首都的公共安全，而包括市议会在内的支持者表示，这是对百年法律的一系列必要和微妙的修订。(专家说当比较新旧刑法时，潜在的数据表明，刑事判决的实际情况比看起来要复杂得多。)
众议院的共和党多数派，以及31名众议院民主党人，上个月批准了一项阻止新刑法典的法案。
周一，西弗吉尼亚州参议院民主党人乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)宣布他打算支持该法案，为该法案在众议院获得通过的前景注入了新的活力。众议院目前由民主党人勉强控制。
“你必须发出一个信号，你不会对他们(罪犯)掉以轻心。他们确切地知道在全国各地他们能得到什么，”曼钦说。
该提案预计将在一个特殊的程序工具下提交参议院，该工具免除了一些常见的障碍。只需要简单多数票就能通过。
和民主党参议员约翰·费特曼一起。，不确定的时间长度他接受临床抑郁症的治疗在沃尔特·里德国家军事医学中心，曼钦的支持加上众议院所有共和党人的支持为通过扫清了道路。
另外，当被问及他是否会支持共和党努力废除新的刑法典，并反对他的政党的领导时，蒙大拿州民主党参议员乔恩·特斯说，“情况看起来不妙。”但他补充说，他需要听取员工的简报。
乔·拜登(Joe Biden)政府表示，反对这种没有否决权的举措。这给总统带来了一个潜在的令人担忧的政治困境，鉴于共和党人如何已经并将继续强调公共安全和犯罪作为主要问题。
曼钦和特斯也准备明年在共和党占优势的州竞选连任。
参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)周一在一次专注于华盛顿特区法律的演讲中说，“除了暴力犯罪本身，民主党人希望讨论任何事情，因为现代民主党及其联盟已经决定，对连环暴力罪犯的同情比只想过自己生活的无辜公民更重要。”“这就是问题所在:二元选择。我们应该像民主党人所希望的那样，在地方、州和联邦层面对犯罪采取更温和的态度吗?还是应该像共和党人和美国人民希望的那样，对犯罪采取更严厉的措施?”
哈格蒂周二表示，他预计参议院最快将于下周对他的法案进行投票。他有信心该法案会通过，或许会得到不止一个民主党人的支持，他在周二表示。
他说:“我认为许多民主党人对此非常关注。”。“一些人试图将华盛顿特区的州地位与应该只是公共安全问题混为一谈，我认为这是非常错误的，我认为我的一些同事正在意识到这一点。”
哈格蒂指的是华盛顿一些人再次推动给予该地区州地位，这样它就不会受制于国会对其法律的权威。
白宫此前发表声明，谴责国会对华盛顿刑法的行动。
“国会应该尊重哥伦比亚特区管理自己地方事务的自主权，”上个月发布的一份政府声明中写道，该声明倡导哥伦比亚特区的州地位。
在周二的一次新闻发布会上，白宫发言人奥利维亚·道尔顿(Olivia Dalton)让记者回顾了那份声明。
道尔顿说:“但总的来说，总统已经明确表示，我们必须采取更多措施来减少犯罪和拯救生命，他已经在他的‘更安全的美国’计划中概述了他预计我们应该如何做到这一点。”
许多参议院民主党人赞同政府的观点，即华盛顿应该能够管理自己。
“我支持地方自治，”弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩周二表示。“我倾向于认为，我们不应该对华盛顿特区的工作进行微观管理。华盛顿特区选举市议会和市长，他们完全有能力判断自己的行为，决定是否需要不同的人。”
随着劫车等犯罪的增加，公共安全问题已经使华盛顿当地政府产生了分歧。布瑟市长在一月份否决了市政会的议案。但是她的否决被推翻了。
Senate Democrats could join Republicans in voting to reject DC's new criminal code
Senate Republicans, joined by some Democratic colleagues, may soon send legislation to President Joe Biden's desk to rescind changes to Washington, D.C.'s criminal code that were opposed by the district's mayor but overwhelmingly supported by its city council.
The Senate legislation, being led in the chamber by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., would roll back a newly-passed package that, among other things, expands the requirement for jury trials and reduces penalties for some violent crimes, including robberies and carjackings, while punishments for other crimes would increase.
The so-called crime bill, which has been worked on for more than 16 years by local officials and was unanimously passed by the city council last year, has come under fire from some lawmakers and activists in D.C. -- including Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat.
Under the district's unique status, Congress has ultimate jurisdiction over its laws.
Congressional Republicans say the new criminal code will worsen public safety in the nation's capital while its supporters, including on the city council, have said it is a necessary and nuanced set of revisions to century-old laws. (Experts say the underlying data shows the reality of how criminal sentencing is imposed is more complicated than it may appear when comparing the new and old criminal codes.)
The House's Republican majority, along with 31 House Democrats, last month approved a bill to block the new criminal code.
On Monday, Senate Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia breathed new life into the legislation's prospects of passing the chamber, narrowly controlled by Democrats, by announcing his intention to support it.
"You've got to send a signal you're not going to slap them [criminals] on the wrist. They know exactly what they can get by with all over the country," Manchin said.
The proposal is expected to come to the Senate floor under a special procedural tool that exempts it from some of the usual hurdles. It will only require a simple majority of votes to pass.
With Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., out for an indefinite length of time while he receives treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Manchin's support coupled with that of all Republicans in the chamber clears a pathway for passage.
Separately, when asked if he would support the GOP effort to quash the new criminal code and oppose his party's leadership, Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said, "It's not looking good." But he did add that he needed to get briefed by his staff.
Joe Biden's administration has said it opposes such a move without guaranteeing a veto. That sets up a potentially fraught political predicament for the president, who is expected to soon announce his 2024 campaign, given how Republicans have and continue to emphasize public safety and crime as major concerns.
Both Manchin and Tester are also up for reelection next year in states where the GOP dominates.
"Democrats want to debate anything and everything besides violent crime itself, because the modern Democratic Party and its coalitions have decided it's more important to have compassion for serial violent felons than for innocent citizens who just want to live their lives," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said during a floor speech on Monday focused on the D.C. law. "That's the issue here: a binary choice. Should we be softer on crime, like Democrats want, at the local, state and federal levels? Or should we be tougher on crime, like Republicans and the American people want?"
Hagerty said Tuesday he expects a vote on his bill could come up in the Senate as soon as next week. He's confident it will pass, with the support of perhaps even more than one Democrat, he said on Tuesday.
"I think a number of Democrats are looking at this very hard," he said. "The attempt by some to conflate D.C. statehood and what should be just public safety concerns I think is very misguided, and I think some of my colleagues are waking up to that."
Hagerty was referring to a renewed push among some in D.C. to grant the district statehood so that it would not be subject to Congress' authority over its laws.
The White House previously issued a statement decrying congressional action on D.C.'s criminal code.
"Congress should respect the District of Columbia's autonomy to govern its own local affairs," read an administration statement issued last month, which advocated for D.C. statehood.
During a press gaggle on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton referred reporters back to that statement.
"But broadly speaking, the president has been clear that we have to do more to reduce crime and save lives and he has outlined how he anticipates we should do so in his 'safer America' plan," Dalton said.
Many Senate Democrats share the administration's view that D.C. ought to be able to govern itself.
"I'm a home rule guy," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Tuesday. "I tend to believe we shouldn't be micromanaging what D.C. does. D.C. elects a city council and mayor and they have the complete capacity to judge their actions and decide if they want different people."
The public safety issue has divided D.C.'s local government as crimes like carjacking have been on the rise. Mayor Bowser vetoed the council's bill in January. But her veto was overridden.
