House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Monday former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, needs to be vocal about where he stands on the “Defund Police” movement, as many progressive Democrats have called for the defunding and disbanding of police departments in major cities.
It has been a new rallying cry for activists, who have been out protesting in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Floyd, a black man, died over Memorial Day weekend while in police custody in Minneapolis. A video captured a white police officer with his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.
“Joe Biden is trying to play both ends of this,” the Louisiana Republican told Fox News.
Mr. Scalise said giving police departments less money would not solve issues within certain departments that have had serious problems, such as the Minneapolis police department, which is facing a civil rights probe by the state.
“Clearly, if somebody abuses their power in some position of law enforcement, there needs to be accountability,” he said.
The minority whip said Republicans will take a look at a policing bill Democrats are expected to introduce Monday to address accountability and oversight of law enforcement.
The legislation doesn’t defund police, but it bans chokeholds and requires racial bias training.
President Trump, meanwhile, has been very vocal in defending the police, dismissing calls to defund law enforcement agencies.
“LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE. The Radical Left Democrats have gone Crazy!” he tweeted Monday morning.
