Thirteen of the bills call for repealing or changing D.C. laws. Some provisions in play would remove the district's elected attorney general, who recently asked a judge to intervene in the takeover. Others would allow the president to appoint someone to the position.
There is also a move to lower the age of trying juveniles to 14 from 16 for certain crimes, and one to change the bail system and remove methods the council can use to extend emergency bills.
Republican Rep. Ron Estes and several Republican colleagues said they want their constituents to feel safe visiting the capital, and noted the recent murder of an intern who worked in Estes' office. “We want to make sure that we have a capital that Americans are proud of,” Estes said.
Members of the Republican Study Committee in the House held a news conference Sept. 2 praising Trump's intervention and supporting codifying his executive order.
“Congress has a clear constitutional authority over D.C., and we will use it without hesitation to continue making D.C. safe and great again,” said Rep. August Pfluger, chairman of that committee.
D.C.'s Democrat Mayor,Muriel Bowser, says the GOP bills are an affront to the city's autonomy.
However, according to a home rule agreement passed in 1973, federal political leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C council.
