Police reform was done even before it started in the U.S. Senate.
It quickly became clear early last week that Democratic senators were just never going to allow the Senate to start the debate on a police reform bill, crafted by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Democrats viewed the legislation as partisan. A senior Democratic source characterized the measure as a “hollow” effort to curb police abuse.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., never formally coached his members to block Scott’s bill.
He didn’t have to.
“The Republican bill does nothing, nothing, to reform the ‘use of force’ standard,” said Schumer on the Senate floor Monday afternoon. “Nothing, nothing on qualified immunity. Nothing on racial profiling.”
Schumer warned senators about Democratic resistance to Scott’s legislation.
FILE – In this April 21, 2020, file photo Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks with reporters outside the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate is set to resume Monday, May 4. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
“This has been a brutal summer,” said Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, as the House debated its bill on Thursday. “And it’s only June.”
There may be more rallies in the streets. More confrontations with law enforcement. Shouts to defund the police. But a legislative solution may remain elusive on Capitol Hill as long as the parliamentary math doesn’t work.
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