House Passes Bill Lowering Age Suspects Can Be Charged As Adults In DC
The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to pass two bills targeting Washington, D.C.’s spiraling juvenile crime crisis, with more votes coming this week as President Trump’s federal law-and-order push continues to deliver results in the nation’s capital.
The D.C. CRIMES Act, spearheaded by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), lowers the maximum age for juvenile prosecution from 24 to 18, forces sentences to comply with adult mandatory minimums, and requires the District to release public data on youth crime.
“Fully grown legal adults in the District of Columbia can receive sentences meant for children. That is simply insane,” Donalds said.
The second measure, the Juvenile Sentencing Reform Act, allows violent offenders as young as 14 to be tried as adults. While both bills drew limited Democratic support, the Reform Act passed by a narrower margin.
These bills are part of a larger package of about a dozen measures aligned with President Trump’s unprecedented federal intervention in Washington, D.C., which has included deploying the National Guard, surging federal law enforcement, and ordering agencies like ICE and the DEA to coordinate with local police.
More Measures on Deck
Two additional bills are expected for a vote Wednesday. One would restore police authority to physically pursue fleeing suspects in certain cases, while another would reduce D.C.’s influence over judicial appointments. Both measures strike at the heart of the District’s controversial “home rule” framework, which allows local lawmakers wide latitude but still subjects them to congressional oversight under the 1973 Home Rule Act.
Trump’s Security Surge Showing Results
President Trump last month ordered federal control of D.C.’s policing efforts, sending in Guard units and federal agents to assist the Metropolitan Police Department. In the first full week under federal authority, citywide crime data showed a 19% drop in property crimes and a 17% decline in violent crime compared to the previous week.
The declines were sharpest in robberies and car break-ins, which both fell more than 40 percent. Other categories were mixed — with burglaries up 6 percent and assaults with a dangerous weapon climbing 14 percent — but overall trends reflected significant improvement.
Perhaps most notable has been immigration enforcement. Since August 7, ICE has arrested roughly 300 illegal immigrants in the District — more than ten times the typical weekly figure.
White House: “Life-Changing Results”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson blasted CNN for portraying the progress as “modest,” insisting the data proves Trump’s policies are saving lives.
“The drops in crime are not ‘moderate,’ they are life-changing for the countless D.C. residents and visitors who have not been murdered, robbed, carjacked, or victims of overall violent crime in the last week,” Jackson said. “The priority of this operation remains getting violent criminals off the streets — regardless of immigration status.”
With Congress moving to cement tougher laws and Trump’s federal crackdown yielding results on the ground, Republicans are making clear: the days of D.C.’s soft-on-crime policies are over.