Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) met with President Biden at the White House Thursday to press the Administration on police reform.
The meeting took place one day after Vice President Harris and other White House officials attended the funeral of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died in the hospital three days after a beating by Memphis police officers, five of whom have been charged with murder.
Vice President Harris also took part in the White House meeting on police reform with the CBC.
“The death of Tyre Nichols is yet another example of why we need action,” said CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV). The Congressman told reporters after the White House meeting, “We have agreement on how we will continue to work forward both from a legislative standpoint as well as executive and community-based solutions, but the focus will always be on public safety.”
Two of the only three Black U.S. Senators, Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), also attended the meeting on police reform, as did Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Joe Neguse (D-CO).
The CBC members did not disclose details about the agreement they made in the room with Biden and Harris, but told reporters there would be more information about a “legislative package” coming in the days ahead.
The White House said in a statement that Biden and Harris had met to “discuss shared priorities, including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the path forward on police reform in Congress.”
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed the then-Democratic-led House in March 2021 but failed in the Senate.
On Monday, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that he had begun discussions with ranking Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, on reviving the legislation by coming up with a compromise on one of Republicans’ major sticking points: qualified immunity for police officers.
“This is going to require all of us, including Republicans, to get across the finish line,” Horsford said Thursday.
