GOP senators tiptoeing toward policing changes
They want distance from Trump’s ‘law and order’ rhetoric
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Tim Scott proposes a national database of police officer-involved shootings. Sen. Rand Paul wants to stop sending surplus U.S. military equipment to local law enforcement. And GOP Sen. Mitt Romney is trying to assemble a bipartisan package of bills in response to police violence.
Despite President Donald Trump’s “law and order” approach to demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, Republicans in Congress are quickly, if quietly, trying to craft legislation to change police practices and accountability following the deaths of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
GOP senators, who risk losing control of the chamber in this fall’s election, are distancing themselves from the tone and substance of Trump’s response as they step gingerly into a topic many have long avoided as the Black Lives Matter movement gains support.
“I think we should all be optimistic right now,” Scott, the only black GOP senator, told reporters at the Capitol. “We have no reason not to be.”
The burst of legislative activity in the Republican ranks — GOP leadership named Scott to lead a working group — is an abrupt turnaround after years of black deaths by law enforcement. It comes as Trump lashes out at activists who want to “defund the police,” and Democrats, powered by the Congressional Black Caucus, unveiled the most sweeping police overhaul in years, with House passage expected.
Lawmakers are watching as demonstrations erupt in all corners of the country, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns,