White House to give Congress space on police reform
By Brett Samuels - 04/21/21 01:21 PM EDT White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said President Biden would look to elevate passage of policing reform as a key issue, but that he would largely remain sidelined as congressional lawmakers work on legislation.
"As he’s thinking about what his joint session speech looks like next week, he has every intention of using to elevate this issue and talk about the importance of putting police reform measures in place," Psaki said at a briefing with reporters.
"The stage we’re in now is that leaders on the Hill need to have discussions among themselves about where they can find agreement and often those discussions," she continued. "The most effective strategy is to allow for space for those conversations to happen privately. Once they come to agreement, and we’re certainly hopeful they’ll do that, we’ll take a look at what that looks like."
Biden has asked senior aides to work with outside organizations and civil rights groups to work to put pressure on Congress to act, Psaki said, and the president discussed the need for reform with the Congressional Black Caucus during a White House meeting last week.
Biden will not support changing or ending the 60-vote legislative filibuster threshold in order to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Psaki said, nor will he set a hard deadline as lawmakers work through negotiations.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/549508-white-house-to-give-congress-space-on-police-reform
