Jun 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Senate Democrats call GOP police reform bill "not salvageable"

Rashaan Ayesh

From left, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. bow their heads — Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday stating that Senate Republicans' police reform bill is "not salvageable."

Why it matters: The bill comes amid a national reckoning over police brutality and systemic racism spurred by the killing of George Floyd, but Capitol Hill's gridlock over the best path forward might torpedo any real legislative action on the issue at the moment.

The letter calls the GOP legislation "so threadbare and lacking in substance that it does not even provide a proper baseline for negotiations."

The backdrop: Senate Democrats are considering filibustering the bill, and McConnell is struggling to find the seven Democrats he needs to even be able to open debate on the bill, Politico reports.

Harris and Booker both helped to author Democrats' more sweeping police reform legislation, which would restrict "qualified immunity" for officers over actions in the field — a key red line for Republicans.

Read the letter:

Go deeper: House plans dramatic action on police reform

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Senate Democrats call GOP police reform bill "not salvageable"

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