House Majority Whip James Clyburn says that those calling for police forces to be defunded should focus on reform instead.
The South Carolina Democrat on Tuesday reiterated comments he made during a private Monday meeting with his caucus and told Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press that calls for “defunding” police were not the right move. Regarding what phrase he would use instead of “defunding” the police, Clyburn said “reform.”
“Reform policing in this country,” said Clyburn. “We need to reform policing.”
Clyburn, who is the highest-ranking black member of Congress, pointed out that in 2012 the city of Camden, New Jersey, reformed its police department but didn’t do away with policing. He said the city’s move to disband the force was about “defunding a department of the police. They still funded policing. They brought the county in to do the policing.”
“No one defunded policing, they defunded a rotten department, and that’s as it should be,” Clyburn added.
WATCH: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) pushes back against calls to “defund the police.” #MTPDaily@WhipClyburn: “Reform policing in this country” instead. pic.twitter.com/wg01gEvo4Q
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 9, 2020
Politico previously reported that during a Monday caucus call, Clyburn said some people have “tried to hijack” the movement that followed George Floyd’s death and warned lawmakers not to let themselves “be drawn into the debate about defunding police forces.”
Clyburn’s warning comes as liberal activists and some of those calling attention to systemic racism and police brutality in the United States have advocated for the removal of funding from police forces. In Minneapolis, where Floyd died, the City Council has a veto-proof majority aiming to defund and disband the police department.
While enjoying the support of some Democratic figures, lawmakers of both parties have largely shied away from outright calls to defund, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling the City Council’s plans “outlandish” and “nonsense.” Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden also said he does not support plans to defund police.
“As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded. He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain,” said Biden spokesman Andrew Bates on Monday.
Protests began across the U.S. after video surfaced that showed Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, being violently pinned to the ground by a white police officer. Floyd can be heard pleading for air while he had a knee dug into his neck for nearly nine minutes.
