Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, confirmed Tuesday that he plans to vote for a Republican-led resolution to overturn Washington D.C.'s crime bill — essentially siding with President Joe Biden, but also potentially leaving him vulnerable with Ohio's Democrat voters in 2024.
"[Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser] vetoed it, so she opposed it," Brown told The Hill. "This is important to law enforcement, important to my state. I still support home rule. They should have full home rule, but I don't think picking and choosing like this makes sense."
According to The Hill, the revised proposal for the District of Columbia criminal code would lower penalties for some violent crimes, including carjackings and robberies.
The changes would also "increase the number of jury trials" for those committing misdemeanor offenses.
Various polling services speculate the trio of Senator Brown, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. could all be vulnerable in their respective elections next year. As such, the Republicans could realistically reclaim the Senate and White House in the same election cycle.
Last week, President Biden announced he would sign the resolution for the D.C. crime bill, effectively blocking the major revision of criminal sentencing laws.
The commander in chief would also be exercising the executive branch's right to review legislation passed by the council of the District of Columbia before it can become law, while retaining some authority over the its budget, since the nation's capital has no voting representation in Congress.
Biden's decision garnered plenty of pushback from congressional Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was apparently shocked by the president's rationale.
"I wish he would've told us first because this was a hard vote for the House members," Pelosi said last week, after a speaking engagement at the University of Chicago. "I understand why some people voted against. But if the president's going to do it, hey, could you give us a heads up, too, in the House?"
On Monday, The Hill reports that five other U.S. senators, who caucus with the Democrats, said they would vote for the GOP-influenced resolution — which could hold an official vote as early as Wednesday.