House Judiciary Subcommittee Hears Clash Over 'Law and Order' Responses, Witnesses Urge Targeted, Evidence-Based Steps

The House Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Oversight opened a contentious hearing on restoring law and order in U.S. cities, with Republican members pressing for tougher enforcement and federal deployments and Democratic members and witnesses urging evidence-based interventions and caution about broad federal deployments.

Chairman Van Drew opened the hearing by arguing that policy choices in "Democratic-run cities" — including eliminating cash bail and reducing penalties for repeat offenders — have weakened public safety and "reward[ed] criminal behavior," a claim he used to justify federal assistance and deployments. "When you reward criminal behavior, you get more of it," the chairman said during his opening statement.

Witnesses and Democratic members disputed that framing. Dr. Nancy Levine, dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, told the subcommittee that "violent crime is down to pre-pandemic levels or even lower in most every U.S. city" and cautioned that federal actions such as deploying armed forces to cities and cancelling grants and program evaluations can have short-term effects but risk damaging long-term, locally led strategies. "Sending in a surge of National Guard and other federal officers into cities can keep residents away for fear," Levine said.

The panel heard four witnesses sworn for testimony: Rafael Manguel (Manhattan Institute), Paul J. Morrow (former NYPD), Tina McKinney (mother of Memphis officer Joseph "Rusty" McKinney), and Dr. Nancy Levine (Rutgers). Witnesses offered differing emphases: Manguel urged focusing on microgeographic concentrations of crime and proposed an omnibus crime bill that would prioritize police recruitment, technologies, data collection and tougher penalties for habitual offenders. "A city's crime levels can mask microgeographic pockets where serious violence continues to occur," he said, arguing for targeted measures.

Paul Morrow, drawing on decades in the New York Police Department, described enforcement practices he credited with past crime declines and warned that some reforms have coincided with visible disorder. He summarized the retail-crime dynamic bluntly: "We now lock up our toothpaste, not our perpetrators," a phrase he used to illustrate repeat shoplifting tied to a small group of prolific offenders.

The hearing featured forceful personal testimony. Tina McKinney described the April 12, 2024 killing of her son, Joseph "Rusty" McKinney, by defendants she said had been released on bond. "Rusty deserved better," she told the panel, and urged continued federal and state support for law enforcement in hard-hit communities.

Members pressed witnesses on the merits and limits of National Guard deployments. Supporters said Guard presence can deter crime and, when paired with prosecutorial prioritization, can produce measurable arrests. Witnesses and opponents cautioned that the Guard lacks civilian-policing training and that short-term deployments can erode trust without sustained, community-aligned strategies.

Debate also turned to recent pardon and personnel decisions at the Department of Justice. Ranking Member Raskin and other Democrats criticized pardons for certain January 6 defendants and urged attention to DOJ staffing and protections for career prosecutors. Republican members framed pardons and local prosecutorial decisions as evidence that stronger federal conditioning of grants or a new omnibus crime bill is needed.

The subcommittee took few concrete legislative steps at the hearing itself. Members entered numerous articles and reports into the record and gave witnesses five legislative days to answer follow-up questions. "Without objection, all members will have five legislative days to submit additional questions and materials for the record," the chairman said before adjourning.

The hearing laid out the sharp political divide over how to respond to urban violent crime: Republicans emphasized enforcement, accountability and federal support including Guard deployments; Democrats and several witnesses emphasized evidence-based programs, the importance of research and victim services, and caution about short-term militarized responses. The committee record will include written testimony from the witnesses and multiple documents entered by members for later consideration.

The subcommittee adjourned after nearly two hours of testimony and questioning; members may submit additional materials for the record within five legislative days.