Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census

By: Miriam Edelman

DCNOW continues to highlight the primary Congressional committees that have jurisdiction over Washington, D.C. This piece focuses on the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census (DMDCC Subcommittee). This post also discusses their views on D.C. autonomy. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is one of the two committees discussed in DCNOW’s blog’s post, entitled “Leaders of Key Congressional Committees With Jurisdiction Over Washington, D.C.: Their Views on D.C. Autonomy.”

Chair

The DMDCC Subcommittee’s Chair is Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). He has been a Senator since 2019. Soon before January 6, 2021, he stated that he would object to certification of Joe Biden’s victory. As Missouriindependent.com reported, Hawley’s announcement “cited unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud that have been championed by President Donald Trump and his allies in an effort to overturn the outcome of the November election. Hawley also argued in his statement that Pennsylvania failed to adhere to its election laws by extending the deadline for mail-in ballots. There’s no evidence of widespread fraud in the election.”

On January 6th, Hawley pumped his left fist towards protesters outside the U.S. Capitol. As Missouriindependent.com reported, Hawley “was greeted as a hero by protesters.” Hawley’s fist pumping riled up the protesters.  Politico reported about the famous photograph of that action:

The snapshot, depending on your point of view, either depicts a U.S. senator encouraging insurrection — or a true believer showing solidarity with law-abiding protesters. For critics in the center and on the left, the photo has become exhibit A in the case against the Trump-friendly conservative. But Hawley and his supporters have embraced it.

On January 6th, the protesters tried to overturn the 2020 election, wanting then-Vice President Mike Pence to change election results despite not having the power to do so. In this instance, Hawley did not seem to care about the U.S. Constitution. Video of later that day shows Hawley running away from rioters in the U.S. Capitol.

Hawley does not seem to regret the fist pump. His campaign sold a mug featuring that pump. On July 20, 2022, Hawley said “I don’t regret anything that I did that day” and “I want to thank — say thank you for all the help with my fundraising. It’s been tremendous.”

Hawley opposes statehood for D.C. Mere months after January 6th, on June 22, 2021, he participated in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on D.C. statehood. According to a dcist article about that hearing,

Those that did attend, notably Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), repeated lines off a greatest hits album of anti-statehood arguments: D.C. statehood is a political “power grab” by Democrats, statehood is unconstitutional, and making D.C. a state through a congressional bill undermines the intent of the Founding Fathers.

Hawley’s YouTube account posted a video from the hearing. At that hearing, he seemed to be making a record that for decades, the Justice’s Department Office of Legal Counsel “has consistently said there's no constitutional authority for Congress to snap its fingers, use a statute to turn D.C. into a state.” Seemingly, he tried to divide Democrats by saying “Tell us about the significance of Robert Kennedy's opinion back in 1963, I think it was, when he said that no, the Constitution does not give Congress the power by statute to turn D.C. into a state.” He appeared to insinuate that Congress’ turning D.C. into a state, overriding the Constitution, would really help Democrats by saying:

I'm looking here at a series of news articles from the last year and a half. The Nation. Democrats have inherited a broken Senate. Can they make it work? It calls for D.C statehood to add two more Democrat votes to the Senate. NBC News. New push for Washington, D.C., statehood hits the presidential campaign trail. Imperative, Democrats say, to add two more votes to the United States Senate for them. New York Magazine. D.C statehood is the Democrats’ only option. Vox. 11 ways to fix America's fundamentally broken democracy. D.C. statehood to add two more Democrat votes to the United States Senate. Indivisible says making democracy reform a priority has to be D.C. statehood. All of this, the premise of all of these articles, which are very candid, is that Democrats think that they won't be able to control the United States Senate in the long term. They need to add two more Democrat seats to control the Senate.

Hawley also discussed the importance of the Constitution:

And rightfully so, and I'll just finish, Mr. Chairman, by saying that it is a fundamental premise of our democracy that the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land, that it binds all who live under it, and we the people can change it. We absolutely can change it. We have a process to do that, a Democratic process. What Congress cannot do is override the Constitution anytime it becomes inconvenient for a majority in Congress, a temporary majority as James Madison would have said. Today, it's the democrats. Tomorrow's, the republicans. After that, the Democrats again. Who knows? The point is the Constitution endures, and that is the fundamental premise of our democratic republic, and I fear that that premise is being threatened by this legislation.

Ranking Member

The DMDCC Subcommittee’s Ranking Member is new Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ). In 2019, Kim joined Congress as a Representative. Incidentally, showing a strong contrast with Hawley, Kim helped clean up trash from the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda on January 7, 2021. On December 9, 2024, he was sworn in as a Senator.

Kim supports D.C. statehood, cosponsoring the D.C. statehood legislation in every session since joining Congress. In 2019, he cosponsored H.R. 51. In 2021, he cosponsored H.R. 51. In 2023, he cosponsored H.R. 51. He cosponsors the current S. 51 bill to make D.C. a state.

Final Thoughts

Republicans and Democrats should all support D.C. autonomy and statehood. D.C.’s lack of full rights is a human rights, not partisan, issue.