On Monday night, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was the victim of an armed carjacking in Washington, D.C. Cuellar told Fox News' Jesse Watters on Tuesday night that the crime confirms how he's "always said that Washington is about two or three times more dangerous [than the border] and we certainly see it now." Even more concerning is that the D.C. Council tried to actually reduce the penalties for armed carjacking, among other crimes. Congress stepped in, and the criminal code did not go into effect. While Cuellar voted to disapprove of the bill, many other Texas Democrats did not vote in such a way. This includes Rep. Colin Allred, a supposed "moderate" who is is running to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2024.
In total, 11 Democrats from Texas voted against the bill. Allred, however, is the one running for higher office next year.
H. J. Res. 26-Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 not only passed the Republican-controlled House, but passed the Democratic-controlled Senate as well. It became law, with President Joe Biden not vetoing it, as he had signaled he would not. The statement on such a decision came almost a month after the House voted, though, causing confusion consternation from some House Democrats.
A Wednesday morning post from Allred notes that "Ted Cruz has been ranked one of the most vulnerable Senators up for re-election," also claiming that "With your support, we can and will, win this race."
Forecasters still consider the race to be "Likely Republican," though, and there are numerous Democratic incumbents who are considered far more vulnerable, especially and including in Montana, West Virginia, and Ohio. When it comes to both the seats that Democrats are defending and Republicans are defending, the 2024 map looks to be particularly favorable to the GOP, especially in comparison to 2022.
Allred's office did not respond to Townhall's request for comment, nor did they respond to the Daily Caller on the matter. The congressman's silence is apparent in either ways, since as of Wednesday after he has yet to post over X about Cuellar being the victim of such an attack, though he has posted since then from both his official and campaign accounts, like the post shared below.
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Ted Cruz has been ranked one of the most vulnerable Senators up for re-election.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) October 4, 2023
With your support, we can and will, win this race.
Frighteningly enough, Cuellar is not the only member to have been assaulted in our nation's capital. As Guy reminded in his report from Tuesday morning, with original emphasis:
Cuellar becomes the second Congressional Democrat to have been criminally assaulted in our nation's capital this year. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was attacked inside an elevator in her apartment building back in early February. An aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was also brutally stabbed the following month. Despite a dramatic spike in carjackings over the last few years, the DC City Council astoundingly chose to pass soft-on-crime legislation that actually reduced criminal penalties for carjacking. House Republicans voted to overturn this insanity, which even the mayor and the Washington Post editorial board had opposed as reckless.
Had the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 gone into effect, criminals would have had even more free reign in an already crime-infested city. The bill eliminated most mandatory minimum sentences, allowed for jury trials in almost all misdemeanors, and had lesser penalties for burglary, robbery, carjacking, sexual assault, and illegally carrying a gun.
Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser had vetoed the measure, though the council overwhelmingly overrode her veto Kelvin Blowe, an activist who pushed for the bill, was shot and killed the same day that the council voted unanimously to pass it, as Julio covered at the time.
"There's no 'crime crisis' in Washington, DC," D.C. City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) posted in March, when he also testified before Congress. As Julio also covered, though, reports about a double shooting in S.E. D.C. came in that same day, with it later being reported that one of the victims died on the scene.
Beyond specific examples, the sheer numbers also paint a very frightening picture. The Metropolitan police's own statistics show a 39 percent jump in violent crime in 2023 compared to 2022, and a 28 percent jump in all crime for that same time period.
Last month, D.C. surpassed 200 homicides for the year thus far, the earliest point since 1997, with local news reports highlighting the concerns of residents who at the same time don't believe anything will actually be done.
"On September 26, 2023, Washington, D.C. suffered its 200th homicide of the year. This marks the first time since 2002-2004 that D.C. has suffered three years in a row with 200-plus homicides. Last year, this grim milestone was not reached until December 29th," a statement from the police union read in part.
In August, The Washington Post highlighted how homicides are "surging toward numbers not seen in two decades" while they're dropping in other major cities.
There were news stories from 2021 and 2022 also pointing to a troubling amount of crime in the district.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacted during Tuesday's press briefing by blaming Republicans, a frequent tactic of hers, as she pointed to funding put forth by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
As Fox News' Peter Doocy pointed out, though, D.C. is run by Democrats. Further, for however much Jean-Pierre wants to blame Republicans for not voting to pass ARPA, it became law, and violent crime, including those against member of Congress, still continues.
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