House passes pair of bills repealing cashless bail, laws limiting cops ability to crack down on crime
DC had the fourth-highest murder-per-capita rate of any US city last year, according to a February 2025 report from the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at the Rochester Institute of Technology. AP
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday approved two bills targeting Washington, D.C.’s criminal justice policies, including a repeal of cashless bail and a rollback of portions of a 2022 city council law that restricted police use of force and limited their collective bargaining rights on disciplinary matters.
The first measure, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), would require pretrial and post-conviction detention for certain violent and dangerous offenders, mandating cash bail for those deemed a threat to public safety in the nation’s capital. It passed in a 237-179 vote. The second bill, which seeks to undo much of the D.C. Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, cleared the House in a 233-190 vote.
Stefanik described the legislation as a “precursor” to efforts to revise bail laws in New York. She criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul’s reforms as having emboldened violent criminals and said her D.C. legislation is intended to restore public safety protections.
Republicans broadly supported the bills, arguing they are necessary to keep violent offenders off the streets. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the legislation restores judges’ authority to hold defendants charged with violent crimes and imposes bail requirements for offenses affecting public safety. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) also reintroduced a measure aimed at reversing several policing reforms enacted by the Democrat-controlled D.C. Council, which critics said limited officers’ operational effectiveness and due process protections.
Democrats, including D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, opposed the measures, calling them unnecessary and a violation of the city’s home-rule authority. Norton noted that violent crime in the city has fallen significantly over the past two years, arguing the bills represent federal overreach.
DC still ranks high nationally for murders per capita, according to a February 2025 report from the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at Rochester Institute of Technology. Supporters of the legislation, including Comer, cited this statistic as justification for restoring police authority and addressing staffing shortages within the Metropolitan Police Department.
Previously, President Trump authorized a federal deployment of National Guard and other federal personnel in D.C., aimed at combating violent crime and supporting local law enforcement. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser credited the federal intervention with significant drops in carjackings and violent crime, while continuing to maintain local law enforcement cooperation with federal efforts.
Trump has also signaled continued federal pressure on jurisdictions that maintain cashless bail policies, including threats to revoke federal funding. His D.C. U.S. Attorney, Jeanine Pirro, has advocated repealing additional soft-on-crime laws, including the Incarceration Reduction Act and the Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act, which provide alternative sentencing options for young adult offenders.
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