Schumer Slams “Weak Tea” GOP Police Reform Plan, McConnell Says Dem Bill Is “Going Nowhere”

Just hours after President Trump kicked off the federal police reform effort by signing an executive order implementing many of the common-ground reform proposals found in the separate plans developed by House Democrats  and Senate Republicans, Dems are already insisting that the Republican plan “doesn’t go far enough.”

So, rather than accepting a package of mutually agreeable reforms, Democrats are doubling down. The ink was barely dry on Trump’s EO when Democratic leader Chuck Schumer insisted that the Republican plan was too “narrow”, and not “inclusive” enough, according to CNN.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned on Tuesday that Senate Republicans “seem to be on a path towards taking a much, much narrower, less inclusive approach – that is wrong.”

A few minutes later, he confessed to reporters that he actually hadn’t read the Republican bill – apparently no Democrats have.

Schumer refused to say Tuesday if Democrats would seek to block the Scott plan from coming to the floor for a debate, saying “we haven’t even seen the bill yet, so it’s premature to comment,” while also declining say if he’s encouraging Democrats to avoid co-sponsoring the plan. Schumer, meanwhile, criticized President Donald Trump’s executive order on policing, calling it “weak tea.”

As we reported a few days back, there is broad consensus between the GOP and Democrats as more GOP lawmakers have expressed openness to make more substantial changes when it comes to rooting out officers with multiple complaints, while making it easier for the public to hold officers accountable.

Even Reuters acknowledged, citing the latest polling data, that many of the proposals found in the Democratic bill – including banning chokeholds (Trump’s EO effectively bribes PDs to bar the technique with federal money) and an explicit ban on racial profiling – are broadly popular among Democrats and Republicans. However, a few paragraphs later, the reporter notes that 39% of Americans supported proposals  to completely defund the police (still an astonishingly high number). To be sure, both Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Trump oppose complete defunding, which until very recently was an idea on the fringes of leftist politics. However, 76% of respondents said they supported moving some funding toward other social services for mental health and the homeless, as well as more training for officers. The GOP hasn’t released a full text of its bill, but moving funding was part of an abbreviated list of proposals from Senator Tim Scott, who is leading the effort to craft the bill.

Democrats released their bill last week. The 134-page tome goes further than Scott’s proposals on the issue in at least one important way: completely eliminating qualified immunity, something that Democrats have demanded, and many Republicans, including Scott and others quoted here would support completely eliminating the immunity and make police liable in incidents of police brutality.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the House Democrats’ bill would be a non-starter in the Senate, and he vowed to not even bring it up for a vote.

“The House version is going nowhere in the Senate,” McConnell told reporters. “It’s basically typical Democratic overreach to try to control everything in Washington. We have no interest in that,” he said.

Even McConnell has suggested that, once it’s released, the Republican plan might surprise some Democrats in the depth of its proposed reforms. Though lawmakers have told the press that they anticipate winning over the president, who is doubling down on his “law and order” image in a way that critics have warned is out of step with public opinion, could lead to obstacles.

The Republicans need 7 Democratic votes to block a filibuster and bring the plan to a vote (which would then presumably pass in a majority vote). With that, the GOP’s strategy comes into focus: McConnell is going to release a plan calling for substantial – but not radical – reform. Then moderates will face political pressure to put their dedication to reform above their political interests.