Biden, Congress facing pressure on police
WASHINGTON — When Vice President Kamala Harris was called to the pulpit at the funeral for Tyre Nichols, she said the White House would settle for nothing less than ambitious federal legislation to crack down on police brutality.
“We should not delay. And we will not be denied,” Harris said to applause in Memphis, Tenn. “It is non-negotiable.”
Back in Washington, however, progress appears difficult, if not unlikely. Bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement on policing legislation stalled more than a year ago, and President Joe Biden ended up instead signing an executive order named for George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of Minneapolis police set off nationwide protests nearly three years ago.
Now, with a new killing in the headlines, Biden and Harris were to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday to explore whether it's possible to get legislation back on track.
“I am working to make sure that we have a clear plan,” said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-nev., who chairs the caucus.
The members of Congress attending the White House meeting with Horsford are Sens. Raphael Warnock and Cory Booker — two of the three Black senators — and Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Jim Clyburn and Joe Neguse. Horsford remained mum on the agenda they were presenting to Biden, only saying that it was long past time to have a “genuine” conversation about policing in America.
The White House is facing fresh pressure to advance the issue, and even some political allies are frustrated with what they view as excess caution from Biden.
“I think the president is missing the opportunity to be a historic president when it comes to the social issues that continue to plague our country,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. “That's what we need.”
The solution, Bowman said, is not “thoughts and prayers, come to the State of the Union after your kid gets killed,” a reference to Nichols' mother and stepfather being invited to attend next week's speech.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-pierre told reporters on Wednesday that “we understand there's a lot more work to do.” She blamed Republicans for blocking progress in Congress.
“The way that we're going to deal with this issue is to have federal legislation,” Jean-pierre said. “That's how we're going to move forward.”
Speaker Kevin Mccarthy on Thursday signaled an openness to discussing the issue.
“I've had a couple of conversations with Tim Scott, who has really been the lead on many of these cases,” the California Republican told reporters Thursday. “We'll make sure we get all the information back and work forward based upon that.”
For his part, Scott, the sole Black Republican senator, said resurrecting the previous Democratic bill is a “nonstarter.”
“I've been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing,” Scott said, “solutions to increase funding and training to make sure only the best wear the badge.”