Hakeem Jeffries Sides With Biden Over ‘Rip Roarin Pissed’ Members

House Democrats “rip roarin’ pissed” At President Joe Biden, after he switched his stance to back a Republican bill to block Washington, D.C.’s changes in the criminal code. But that didn’t stop Rep. Hakeem Jefferson (N.Y.), defending Biden’s change in stance.

Asked Sunday morning CNN interview Biden “pulled the rug out from under House Democrats” Jeffries signed the Republican bill after he said he would. “Not at all.” Jeffries is at odds with many of his fellow members. attacked Biden D.C. would be prevented from lowering penalties in carjackings and illegal gun possession offenses. Biden voiced opposition to the bill by writing in February statement—prompting at least 14 vulnerable House Democrats to vote against it—only to reverse his position weeks after the vote.

Now those members who are most vulnerable will be the targets of soft-on-crime attacks ads from Republicans. A fate that they might have avoided if Biden would have communicated his position before voting. “People are rip roarin’ pissed,” A House Democrat told Axios. Biden “is going to have a much harder time asking people to take tough votes after this.”

Biden used His eventual support of the Republican bill was to show himself tough on crime. This tactic comes at a time when Republicans all across the country are hammering him. rising violent crime rates. Biden’s determination to defeat those attacks seems to have outweighed his continued support for D.C. Statehood and Home Rule, which would permit the city to make laws without any congressional approval. Biden will be running for president in 2020. said He supports D.C.’s statehood “for the last 28 years,” Democrat’s government a year later urged Congress To “provide for a swift and orderly transition to statehood.” “This taxation without representation and denial of self-governance,” The administration wrote At the time “is an affront to the democratic values on which our nation was founded.”

Jeffries chose to defend Biden’s bill handling, but his fellow Republicans are already feeling the heat over the decision they made to respect the pre-vote position of the president. Last week, the National Republican Congressional Committee singled out Swing-district House Democrats voted against the crime bill, asserting that it proves they are members of the House “represent the extreme pro-crime fringe of [their] party.” Targets were Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Gabe Vasquez in N.M., Susan Wild (Pa.) and Steven Horsford from Nevada. They all voted. “coddle violent criminals,” A move by their constituents “will be hearing about … over and over again,” The committee stated.

Jeffries didn’t respond to a request for comments. Jeffries wasn’t content with defending Biden, but he did so in an effort not only to alienate the swing-district House Democrats. Also, the caucus had a progressive wing. blasted the president For siding with Republicans in criminal justice reform, refusing D.C. “conduct its own business.” “It’s actually very infuriating that the president did that,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) told Insider. “If the president supports D.C. statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D. N.Y.), was included in an addition on Thursday tweet.

The city council voted Monday in favor of Biden’s promise to sign legislation to repeal D.C.’s criminal code modifications. withdraw those changesPhil Mendelson, chairman of the decision council (D.), stated that it was directed at “lowering the heat and lowering the rhetoric.” However, Senate Republicans dismissed Mendelson’s actions, and stated that they are moving ahead with their vote to stop the new criminal code which was passed by the D.C. Council in November.

“No matter how hard they try, the council cannot avoid accountability for passing this disastrous, dangerous D.C. soft-on-crime bill that will make residents and visitors less safe,” Senator Bill Hagerty, R., Tenn. made the following statement.