Republicans take victory lap on blocking DC crime overhaul
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., says Democrats across the country are coming to the realization that 'crime does not pay.'
FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House Republicans are dropping a resolution ahead of National Police Week supporting law enforcement and condemning the defund the police movement.
GOP Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado and Andy Biggs of Arizona are introducing a new resolution to expressing the House of Representatives’ support of local law enforcement and "condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies."
Buck told Fox News Digital that National Police Week is an opportunity to show support for our men and women in blue after they have been "mercilessly attacked" following the 2020 George Floyd riots.
GOP Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado and Andy Biggs of Arizona are introducing a new resolution to expressing the House of Representatives’ support of local law enforcement and "condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies." (Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Ever since the George Floyd riots of 2020, our brave men and women in blue have been mercilessly attacked for solely doing their jobs," Buck said.
"Shamefully, leftist activists and progressive politicians have continued to call for the defunding and dismantling of local police departments across the country," the Colorado Republican continued. "We're not going to let that happen."
"National Police Week is an opportunity to show our support to local law enforcement for upholding the rule of law and selflessly protecting our communities," he added.
Biggs told Fox News Digital that Americans "must ‘back the blue’ now more than ever."
"Crime is surging across our cities in virtually every major statistic," Biggs said. "These heroes are the only ones putting themselves in harm’s way to uphold our rule of law and ensure public safety.’
"These courageous men and women volunteer to keep our communities safer every day. At the very least, they deserve our gratitude and respect," the Arizona Republican continued. "I am grateful to introduce this much-needed resolution along with my good friend Congressman Buck."
Biggs told Fox News Digital that Americans "must ‘back the blue’ now more than ever." (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In addition to the House resolution putting the lower chamber’s support behind local law enforcement and condemning the defund the police movement, the resolution slams "leftist activists and progressive politicians" who "called for the defunding and dismantling of local police departments across the country and actively encouraged resentment toward local law enforcement."
The "defund the police" movement gained steam in the wake of the Floyd riots in 2020, with progressive politicians, including "Squad" Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
Some localities actually went through with defunding and depowering the police amid the leftist political push, and the reverberations are still sounding strong today.
Downtown Austin, Texas has become a hotspot for illegal street racing and other crimes as they face a law enforcement staffing crisis after slashing the police funding by $100 million.
Austin has been bleeding cops, leading to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson inviting the departing patrolmen to join his city's police force.
The nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., has become the poster child of rampant crime after the city council overturned Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto of a controversial crime bill that could die after congressional action.
Downtown Austin, Texas has become a hotspot for illegal street racing and other crimes as they face a law enforcement staffing crisis after slashing the police funding by $100 million. ((Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
Several high-profile examples of crime in the nation's capital have underscored the crisis. A Senate staffer was stabbed in the head while walking in the city, a Virginia college student going to a concert was murdered in her hotel room, and a pair of 12-year-olds were charged in two separate crime sprees.
The growing juvenile crime problem in D.C. saw an Uber driver killed in 2021 when he was flung from his car after it was jacked by two 15-year-old girls and four teenagers arrested last month following a five-day crime spree of 13 violent robberies.
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The April arrests came amid a skyrocketing rate of carjackings in the nation's capital, which has already seen 169 carjacking incidents year-to-date, according to D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) statistics. Of those, 73% have involved guns.
Twenty-one people have been arrested over carjacking incidents, with 57% of such arrests involving juveniles, according to MPD.
Fox News Digital's Jon Brown contributed reporting.
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