Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) is calling for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Plaza in Washington, D.C., to be paved over, The Daily Caller reports.
“I would think that that is something that we should do. You have a street that is blocked off. It should not be blocked off. You have businesses that are negatively affected by it and they shouldn’t be negatively affected by it. The Black Lives Matter movement in and of itself should be All Lives Matter, not just Black Lives Matter, but All Lives Matter,” he told the outlet in an interview.
He noted that the $5 million price tag for the BLM Plaza is an “incredible waste of money.”
“And then to maintain it, another waste of money. So, honestly, the street needs to go back to the way it was, which is a public thoroughfare and the Black Lives Matter wording needs to be paved over,” Clyde said.
The Republican also discussed concerns with the idea of “home rule” in Washington, D.C. Home rule is a law from the 1970s that says “whatever the city passes is approved and Congress has a limited amount of time to disapprove it,” Clyde said. “That’s backwards.”
He explained that the “way it should have been is whatever the city approves, Congress must approve that and it is not approved until Congress approves it and if Congress does not approve it, then it is disapproved. It’s not approved and Congress has a limited time to disapprove it. It is not approved until Congress approves it because that’s the way the Constitution is written.” He cited Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17.
The Enclave Clause allows Congress to exercise authority over the federal district.
