Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday that he has tapped South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, to lead the GOP effort for police reform legislation.
Scott met with his colleagues at Tuesday’s Republican luncheon, during which McConnell said Scott explained what he and other senators have in the works so far.
Over the past weeks, thousands of people have expressed their desire for policing reform, sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody last month.
McConnell said, “I’ve asked Senator Tim Scott to lead a group that is working on a proposal to allow us to respond to the obvious racial discrimination that we’ve seen on full display on our television screens over the last two weeks.”
Members of the Trump administration met with Scott on Tuesday to discuss the plans. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, deputy assistant to the president Ja’Ron Smith, and the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner were all in attendance. After the meeting, Meadows said that the president wanted to institute reform “sooner rather than later.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Scott’s office wrote, “Senator Scott had a productive meeting with Jared Kushner, Mark Meadows, and Ja’Ron Smith this afternoon. They discussed both the Senate and White House proposals that are under development. They found common ground in some important areas, and will continue to discuss other proposals in the coming days.”
Scott has said that the bill will likely include anti-lynching legislation, a review of no-knock warrant policies, and funding for more police body cameras.
Some GOP senators have expressed interest in reforming a policy called “qualified immunity,” which gives special protection to government officials in civil proceedings. It remains unclear whether this policy will be included in the Republican proposal.
Protesters around the country have been advocating for so-called “defund the police” policies, demands that Scott called “a ridiculous idea.”
A wave of Republican support appears to be surrounding the senator’s efforts. Scott said the group working on the changes includes Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and GOP Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Cornyn of Texas, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and James Lankford of Oklahoma.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was going to offer his own police reform package, but his press office has confirmed with the Washington Examiner that he no longer plans to do so and will instead be working with Scott on his proposal. Romney said of the proposal so far, “It’s still a work in progress. A lot is being added to it.”
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has proposed a resolution calling for “justice for George Floyd,” which says, in part, “The killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, at the hands of law enforcement was a horrific act that violated the public trust and was inconsistent with the values and conduct expected of law enforcement officers.” Shortly before announcing this proposal, the senator spoke up at the GOP luncheon to express his concerns with the state of the country’s race relations.
Republican efforts in this direction come on the heels of a police reform proposal from Democrats, which would reform qualified immunity, ban chokeholds, and create a national police misconduct registry, among other changes.
