Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Tuesday called on the Senate to take up and pass a criminal justice reform bill that’s backed by the Trump administration, and he said it would be worth approving fewer of President Trump’s judicial nominees to get it done.
“If McConnell will bring this up, it will pass overwhelmingly and he can do it in a way — several different ways — to shorten the time it would take,” Grassley said at an event hosted by the Washington Post. “This can be done in three or four days real easily.”
“Doing two less judges to get a criminal justice reform bill would be a very good trade off as far as I’m concerned,” he added.
[Opinion: Trump is right to embrace criminal justice reform]
Grassley supports the First Step bill, which would shorten drug-related sentences and allow retroactive reduced sentences for cases involving crack cocaine that were handed down under tougher laws. The bill also has support from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Koch brothers–backed Right on Crime, and others.
Grassley said McConnell has told him he would allow the bill to come to the floor if there were between 65 and 70 votes for it in the chamber. He said almost 30 Republicans support the bill, along with most Democrats.
He also said it’s worth slowing down the pace of judicial nominees because Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has vowed to block them all anyway until McConnell allows a vote on his bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.
“We can’t as long as Flake is not going to vote with us,” Grassley replied when asked about moving along nominees when the committee meets later this week. “We’re not going to deal with judges that we lose 10-11 if they otherwise get out 11-10.”
Grassley’s Democratic partner on the legislation, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, said he is taking the lead in getting support for the bill in the Democratic conference.
“Cory Booker and I can bring together a substantial majority of Democrats,” he said. “I think we have good support on the left. I don’t have anyone that I’m worried about at the moment.”
Grassley said voting on the legislation is urgent because it is less likely to pass the House when Democrats take control in January.
“We have [a] once-in-a-generation opportunity to accomplish something on criminal justice reform. We should move on it,” he said.
