For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
The House on Tuesday approved legislation that would overturn a measure approved by the D.C. Council that allows non-U.S. citizens to vote in local District elections.
The vote was 266-148, with one lawmaker voting present and 56 Democrats joining Republicans in voting for the GOP legislation. The council approved the law in 2022, which allows noncitizens to vote for local offices, such as mayor.
Rep. James Comer, a Republican representing Kentucky’s 1st District, said rescinding the law is necessary to maintain election integrity.
“The right to vote is a defining privilege of American citizenship,” Comer said. “Diluting that right by extending it to noncitizens, whether here legally or illegally, undermines the voice of Washington, D.C., residents.”
But D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said it was another example of Republicans unnecessarily meddling in the District’s affairs.
“D.C. allows noncitizens to vote in local elections because it believes that all adult residents deserve a say in their local government matters,” Norton said.
She noted that residents who disagree with legislation approved by the D.C. Council can vote them out of office. Norton also criticized House Republicans for failing in recent months to fix a glitch that blew a $1 billion hole in the D.C. budget, even though the Senate has approved a bill to do that.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to call a vote last month, but hasn’t done so.
House also approves bill to change DC law on police discipline
The House also voted Tuesday to overturn a D.C. law passed in the wake of the death of George Floyd in 2020 that makes it more difficult for police officers to challenge disciplinary decisions. The law was passed by the D.C. Council in 2023.
Republican opponents of the law say it stripped police officers of some employee protections, arguing it makes their jobs more difficult. GOP lawmakers have also argued it makes it difficult for the city to recruit new police officers at a time of rising crime.
But Norton said that violent crime in D.C. has dropped by 22% this year compared to 2024 and noted that there was a major drop in crime the year before.
“The timing of the introduction and consideration of this bill is stunning,” Norton said, referring to what she called the “fiscal sabotage” of the House failing to act fix the D.C. budget problem, which does not involve federal funds.
Both bills now head to the Senate.
A police bill overturning D.C. reforms was previously approved by the House and Senate but was vetoed by former President Joe Biden.
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