Top DC leaders summoned to appear on Capitol Hill for congressional hearing

WASHINGTON — The GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee plans to hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 29th concerning the governance of the District of Columbia.

Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement released to WUSA9 that, "the Oversight Committee has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the policies that have plagued our capital city."

Requests from the Committee were sent to four key D.C. city leaders; Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Charles Allen, D.C.'s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Glen Lee and Greggory Pemberton, head of the DC Police Union. 

WUSA9 has confirmed that Mendelson, Allen and Lee plan to attend. We are still awaiting word from Pemberton that he plans to attend, though the DC Police Union Twitter account retweeted several stories referencing the upcoming hearing. 

Already in the new GOP-led House, members were able to successfully pass one widely bipartisan effort aimed at overturning a recently passed measure by the DC City Council. That bill, a "Resolution of Disapproval" concerning D.C.'s Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) was also approved by a vast bi-partisan majority in the Senate and President Biden has pledged to sign it.

In a statement released to WUSA9, House Oversight Chairman James Comer offered the following:

"Congress has sent a clear message to the D.C. Council: it's time to make our nation's capital safe again. All Americans should feel safe in their capital city, but radical left-wing policies have led to a crime crisis and rampant homelessness. As the committee with jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, the Oversight Committee has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the policies that have plagued our capital city. To examine city management and operations, I have invited members of the D.C. Council, the Chief Financial Officer, and the head of the D.C. Police Union to testify at a hearing scheduled for March 29. I look forward to their cooperation and insight as we work to improve Washington, D.C. and hold its officials accountable."

The top Democrat on the Committee, Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD) offered the following statement to WUSA9:

"I wish my Republican colleagues would show the same devotion to public safety in the Nation’s Capital when it comes to the January 6th insurrection, the worst episode of mass violence against the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, and the peaceful transfer of power in American history.  But this hearing is just one more political distraction designed to placate the ultra-MAGA base and one more affront to self-government in local Washington.  If my colleagues want to act as the largest city council in America, with 535 Members, this hearing should take place at the D.C. Council Chambers or somewhere in the local city so residents can actually participate.”

Several other local DMV Representatives sit on the Oversight Committee and will have the opportunity to engage with the witnesses during questioning including Del Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA).

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