Tensions flared Thursday on Capitol Hill as House Republicans confronted a group of leaders in Washington, D.C., during a hearing.
President Donald Trump instigated a federal takeover of the city, sending in the National Guard to fill law enforcement functions and instituting a scorched-earth prosecution policy, ostensibly in the name of managing crime, even though the district's crime numbers had been falling long before the move. As D.C. officials have grown more outspoken against the occupation, Trump has suggested he'll declare a national emergency.
According to Politico, "Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chair Phil Mendelson and attorney general Brian Schwalb — all Democrats — were invited to appear before the GOP-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which last week approved a sweeping set of bills that would pare back the local government’s power to enact its law enforcement policies."
Frustration from both sides became apparent immediately, according to Politico, which described the hearing as "tense" on Thursday.
“We are a city under siege,” Mendelson told the Oversight Committee. “It is frustrating to watch this committee debate and vote on 14 bills regarding the district without a single public hearing, with no input from District officials or the public, without regard for community impact nor a shred of analysis, including legal sufficiency or fiscal impact.”
While some Republicans showed sympathy for the officials, with Chairman James Comer (R-KY) telling Bowser she was “doing a good job in a tough position,” many others showed hostility. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) suggested to Bowser that $1 billion in locally raised funds that Congress blocked D.C. from using would only be restored if Bowser committed to using it all to hire police. Meanwhile, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), said “We are constantly at odds with the leadership of D.C., as a body,” and accused the leaders of not understanding Americans in the rest of the country.
In one of the most bizarre exchanges, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) demanded that Bowser define what a woman is — a frequent anti-transgender rights catchphrase — to which Bowser responded, "I'm a woman. Are you a woman?"