Competing proposals from Democrats and Republicans — as well as Trump’s executive order — could lead to an impasse.
House Democrats on Wednesday will take the first step toward enacting a sweeping police reform bill, with lawmakers in both parties hopeful for a deal even as the two sides remain far from reaching a compromise.
Senior Democrats and Republicans are hoping to get something to President Donald Trump’s desk within the next few weeks, worrying that they’ll lose momentum if the negotiations drag beyond the July 4th holiday.
And with protests over racial injustice and police brutality still gripping dozens of cities, both parties have moved aggressively to present some kind of legislative framework to address long-ignored problems in policing. But there’s also been little incentive for the two parties to broker a compromise as they each look to lay down their respective markers on reform.
“Truth be told, if these conversations had started in the very beginning, I think my answer would be much more affirmative,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has privately discussed the legislation with several Republicans, said in an interview. “My unfortunate belief is that absent collaboration from the very beginning, it makes it incredibly difficult.”
Still, Phillips, noted: “There’s a lot of common ground right now, my hope is that we at least focus on the common ground and accomplish that now.”
The House Judiciary Committee will take up the landmark legislation in a marathon session starting Wednesday morning, three weeks after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis officers has galvanized both sides of Capitol Hill into action. The markup comes one week after the panel heard gripping testimony from Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, who pleaded with lawmakers to “stop the pain” and deliver change.
But both the committee vote Wednesday and the full House vote next week are expected to largely fall along party lines. Democrats have enough support within their caucus to pass the bill on their own, with no interest in softening their proposal to win over Republicans.
Senate Republicans, meanwhile, will release their own police reform bill on Wednesday, which is expected to build on Trump’s executive order and could be on the floor as soon as next week, despite earlier predictions that the Senate wouldn’t take up the bill until after July 4.
And leaders in both parties are already publicly bickering. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed Democrats over their bill, which he said was “going nowhere” in the Senate. He said Democrats were seeking to “federalize” the police system and trying to “control everything in Washington.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)on Tuesdayoffered a pointed rebuttal, calling McConnell’s remarks “disgraceful.”
“For the leader of the Senate to say, ‘It’s going nowhere, we don’t want any of that,’ is really disgraceful — and really ignores the concerns of the American people,” Pelosi said on MSNBC. “I feel very, very disappointed by the dangerous statement made by the Republican leader of the Senate.
