Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will vote with Senate Republicans to roll back the controversial D.C. criminal code reform bill when it arrives on the Senate floor, his spokesperson told NBC News.
With Senate Democrats down by at least one vote and some moderate Democratic senators who say they're still undecided on the measure, Manchin's vote alongside the congressional chamber's 49 Republicans would give the GOP the majority needed to override the D.C. Council's bill.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is currently away from the Senate receiving inpatient care for clinical depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
A vote on the criminal code reform bill is likely to take place next week.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
If the Senate votes to override the bill, the measure is sent to President Joe Biden to approve or veto. It would be President Biden's first presidential veto if he were to reject the measure -- but with no statement from the White House on a veto as of Tuesday afternoon, the status of the Council's bill is uncertain.
The bill is a sweeping rewrite of D.C.'s criminal code, which would eliminate most mandatory minimum sentences, reduce mandatory maximum penalties and allow jury trials for misdemeanors.
The Criminal Code Reform Commission spent 16 years creating and voting on the recommendations, according to Ward 6 Council Member Charles Allen's office.
The criminal code, as it stands before the bill, was written in 1901, and it has not been updated in the more than 100 years since.
"Many members of Congress in 1901 were former slave holders. When we have a criminal code like that, it welcomes bias," Allen said in October. "We have a disproportionate, outdated hot mess of a criminal code right now."
The measure was passed unanimously by the D.C. council in November 2022.
In January, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the measure, expressing concern about the burden the reforms would place on D.C.'s criminal justice system.
“What this law would suggest is that the number of trials would skyrocket, and so we have concerns about all of that,” Bowser said.
Later in January, the D.C. Council voted to override Bowser's veto 12-1, allowing the reform to move forward.
But in early February, when the measure moved into the U.S. House for congressional approval, the GOP-controlled House voted to overturn the measure in a 250-173 vote. That vote took place back-to-back with another, overturning a new law that would grant noncitizens the right to vote in local elections.
The U.S. Constitution includes Congressional oversight of the District, allowing Congress to nullify laws voted on by the D.C. Council. For more about how D.C. bills become law, click here.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s nonvoting delegate in the Congress, said in early February that the new mandatory minimum penalties would still be higher than those for identical crimes in multiple U.S. states, according to the AP.
After the vote, Norton released a statement saying, “D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown, are worthy and capable of governing themselves. It is true Congress has absolute power over D.C., but might does not make right.”
All 49 Republicans in the Senate are opposed to the D.C. criminal code reform measure.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke on the flor of the Senate on Tuesday morning to slam the D.C. crime law, Senate Democrats and the D.C. Council.
"At best, the liberal city politicians who have presided over this ongoing collapse in law and order are doing basically nothing," McConnell said.
"The mayor recently announced the city will hand out free steering wheel locks to resident who own certain kinds of vehicles," he said, referring to a series of Kia and Hyundai thefts that took place nationwide after a viral TikTok challenge, which exploits a design flaw in the cars that can be fixed with a steering wheel locks.
"But some local officials are not contented with doing nothing and have set their minds to making the situation actually worse. To a unique degree, unlike any other city in America, Washington DC issues are national issues," McConnell continued.
"The District of Columbia doesn't belong to a handful of local politicians. It belongs to more than 330 million American citizens. The people need their government to function and safety."
Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., are expected to force the vote next week.
If a majority of senators vote against the measure, the joint resolution from both houses of Congress will be sent to the president to approve or veto.
NBC4 Senior Producer Jenny Cushman, NBC News Producer and Off-Air Reporter Frank Thorp V and NBC News Capital Hill Associate Producer Liz Brown-Kaiser contributed to this report.
