andrew clyde – Dr. Rich Swier

Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde said Friday that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is “so strong” among Democrats that they will continue to resist President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce violent crime in Washington, D.C., regardless of how it impacts their voters.

Clyde told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive interview that while Trump and Republicans want to “restore law and order” to the nation’s capital, the Democratic Party has been prioritizing “cheering on” those who commit crimes. The Georgia Republican added that Democrats are “supporting criminals” while the GOP and Trump are moving to help “law-abiding citizens.”

“It goes to show you how vastly different the two sides are,” Clyde told the DCNF. “Here you have President Trump and the Republicans wanting to restore law and order, wanting to make the city safe for the American people and for the residents of D.C. and you have the Democrats, who are there cheering on the criminals. And that is baffling to me, you know, I guess either Trump Derangement Syndrome is so strong for the Democrats that anything President Trump does, whether it helps them, you know, and helps their constituency or not, they’re going to oppose [it].”

“Here, his intent is to reduce violent crime, to make the city more safe. I mean, how many people were murdered on average in a week in the city every week in the city of Washington, D.C.? Anywhere from one to three? And we had a couple of weeks there where no one was murdered, so how many lies were actually saved during those two weeks?” Clyde continued. “You know, it’s pretty evident that the Democrats here are supporting the criminals and the Republicans and the president are supporting law-abiding citizens and so I think the country really needs to see that. And I think the country will side with Republicans and the president.”

Trump has been spearheading an effort to stamp out violent crime in Washington, D.C., including moving in August to deploy National Guard troops to the nation’s capital in an effort to help reduce violent crime. Many Democrats have opposed the president’s efforts to tackle crime in the capital city, with some even claiming that the move is a “political liability” for the Republican Party.

Despite Trump’s ongoing crime crackdown facing opposition from many Democrats, some recent polling has indicated that many voters approve of his approach to handling crime.

On Wednesday, Clyde introduced the Commonsense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in D.C. (CLEAN D.C.) Act, which would repeal the D.C. City Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2022. Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced companion legislation in the Senate on Wednesday.

Today, I introduced the CLEAN DC Act to REPEAL the DC Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.

This anti-police law emboldens criminals and hinders officer retention.

Congress must act to help restore law and order in our nation’s capital. pic.twitter.com/TBLO2DpHOY

— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) September 3, 2025

The D.C. Council’s 2022 law notably prohibits the use of some neck restraints by law enforcement officers and requires additional procedures related to body-worn cameras.

In 2023, Clyde and Republican New York Andrew Rep. Garbarino introduced a joint resolution of disapproval, H.J.Res. 42, to block the D.C. Council’s crime law, which he had referred to as an “anti-police measure,” the Daily Caller first reported in March 2023. Then-Sen. JD Vance introduced the companion bill in the Senate in May 2023.

Although the legislation passed both the House of Representatives and Senate with bipartisan support in 2023, former President Joe Biden vetoed the resolution in May 2023.

“Well, back in 2020, the D.C. City Council with the riots across the land, et cetera. The D.C. City Council passed an ordinance that was basically an anti-police ordinance,” Clyde explained to the DCNF. “Actually, they passed two of them. One was the revised criminal code act of D.C., which eliminated all mandatory minimum sentences for violent crime. Other than, you know, everything second degree murder and down.”

“And that would have simply increased the crime that we are already seeing in the city, and it made no sense whatsoever,” he added. “It was a radically left-wing piece of legislation, and so we led a congressional review act to take it down and to eliminate it and it was successful.”

Clyde told the DCNF that the D.C. Council’s police law is “very much an anti-police act.”

“The D.C. Police Union was very much against it [the D.C. Council’s police law] because they knew that their officers would be hurt by it,” the congressman said. “So we led a Congressional Review Act to eliminate that as well back in 2023.”

Clyde noted that the 2023 bill “passed in a bipartisan way, with 14 Democrat votes on the House side and then … in the Senate as well, with eight Democrat Senators voting for it. Then it went to President Biden’s desk and he vetoed it.”

“And the reason he [Biden] gave was that he wanted the D.C. City Council to be able to determine their own destiny for the city of Washington, D.C. Well, there’s a problem with that. In the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 says that Congress has the exclusive legislative authority over the city of Washington, D.C.,” Clyde told the DCNF. “He [Biden] actually wants the city council to be in charge of a city that is supposed to be for all Americans.”

“The city of Washington, D.C. was designed through our Constitution, not to be just a city for the residents, but it was to be a city for all of America,” the lawmaker added.

Radical Democrats despise President Trump so much that they’re shamelessly opposing his commonsense efforts to clean up our nation’s crime-ridden cities.

Trump Derangement Syndrome at its finest.

— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) September 4, 2025

Clyde went on to say that the main goal of his CLEAN D.C. Act is to keep Washington, D.C. “safe” and ensure that the city council will “respect the job” that local law enforcement officers do.

“I’m pretty excited, actually, and I like the fact that the prior co-sponsor of that in the Senate is now our vice president, you know? So it’s pretty cool,” Clyde said. “I believe he’s gonna see a bill that he sponsored in the Senate, come to be made law by the president under which he serves now.”

“I think that’s a pretty cool aspect of it, but the entire point of the bill is to make the city of Washington, D.C. more safe,” he added. “That’s it, and for the city council to respect the job that the law enforcement officer does because it is a very difficult job.”

“And with this act you know, still in place, it shows that they don’t,” Clyde said. “It shows that the city council does not have or will not back law enforcement as they should be.”

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The U.S. House passed legislation Wednesday to block the Washington, D.C., City Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2022.

The legislation was first obtained by the Daily Caller in March and focuses on the D.C. crime law, which reduces police power amid rising crime in the district. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) faces a historic staffing shortage and has struggled to recruit new officers.

It passed the House 229-189. Fourteen Democrats voted with Republicans in passing the legislation.

Congress can exercise authority over D.C. local affairs, according to the District Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17), and Congress reviews all D.C. legislation before it can become law. Congress can change or even overturn D.C. legislation and can impose new laws on the district.

Since Jan. 2020, the MPD has lost more than 1,100 officers and is currently operating in an officer deficit.

“The House has now taken another pivotal step in the fight to restore law and order in our nation’s capital city. Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to prevent the D.C. Council’s anti-police law from remaining in place, as this misguided bill severely hinders the Metropolitan Police Department’s ongoing effort to recruit and retain officers — exacerbating an already alarming problem as the police force has dwindled to a staggering half-century low under these disparaging policies,” Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia told the Caller after the legislation passed.

“The Council’s legislation also significantly limits MPD officers from effectively doing their jobs, jeopardizing Americans’ safety in our crime-ridden capital. I thank my colleagues for passing my life-saving, pro-police resolution with bipartisan support, and I now call on both the Senate and the White House to put people over politics by joining our effort to improve public safety in our nation’s capital city.”

The Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 would:

Prohibit the Review of BWC Recordings by Investigating Officers
Require the Immediate Release of Body-Worn Camera Footage and Names of Officers in Serious Use of Force Matters
Remove All Police Officers from the Office of Police Complaints Board and the Union Representatives from the Use of Force Review Board
Remove a rank-and-file police representative from the Use of Force Review Board and expands the voting members to include anti-police activists
Allows for the Disclosure of Disciplinary Records and Creates a Public Discipline Database
Eliminates Collective Bargaining Rights of Police Officers
Eliminates the Requirement of Bringing Timely Discipline Against D.C. Police Officers
Repeals D.C. Code 5-1031, which requires the MPD to commence discipline against D.C. police officers within 90 business days, which will result in abusively long disciplinary investigations that violate the Constitutional rights of D.C. police officers

“This battle is far from over, as the District’s officials continue to fail both residents and visitors on a daily basis. I remain committed to returning our nation’s capital city back to the American people and restoring Congress’ full exclusive legislative authority over Washington, as our wise Founders intended in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution,” Clyde added.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution of disapproval to block the Washington, D.C., City Council’s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, which would lower penalties for a number of violent criminal offenses. The Caller first broke the news of the legislation on Feb. 2. The vote was 81-14, with a total of 33 Democrats voting with Republicans to pass the bill.

The D.C. Council approved the Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) in Nov. 2022. The RCCA reduces penalties for certain violent criminal offenses, including carjackings, robberies and homicides. Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill on Jan. 4, but the council overrode her veto Jan. 17 by a vote of 12-1.

The legislation picked up support from the D.C. Police Union, who said the act’s proposals are dangerous and would lead to more crime in the nation’s capital.

“The introduction of this new House Joint Resolution is necessary to protect public safety in our Nation’s Capital,” D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton said. “This Act is a dangerous law that destroys collective bargaining rights of MPD police officers, eviscerates due process, reduces less-lethal options for law enforcement during a riot, and further contributes to the critical staffing crisis that is plaguing the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) today. This Act is laced with bad policies with real-world consequences that delay justice for families and victims.”

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