Axios

Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council — a veto-proof majority on the panel of 13 — signed a pledge at a rally on Sunday to begin the process of dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department as it currently exists, The Appeal first reported.

Why it matters: The move to replace the police department with a community-based public safety model answers the calls of activists who have been pushing for a massive overhaul of law enforcement in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd.

Like House Democrats, the White House is also debating police reform this week — an addition to the president’s harsh “law and order” rhetoric toward a “phase two” approach aimed at addressing what policy the Trump administration can get behind, sources familiar with the plans tell Axios.

What we’re hearing: President Trump will host a roundtable listening session with law enforcement on Monday, “to hear their challenges and input on how to fix racial inequality in American policing,” a White House official tells Axios.

House Democrats will try to turn the public outcry over George Floyd's killing into policy action this week, unveiling sweeping legislation on police reform and holding a hearing with Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd.

Why it matters: The Democratic measure represents the most drastic overhaul of federal policing laws in decades.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined a group of nearly 1,000 Christians marching toward the White House on Sunday.

What they're saying: Asked why it was important for him to be out protesting, Romney told NBC News: “We need a voice against racism, we need many voices against racism and against brutality. And we need to stand up and say that black lives matter."

President Trump's top political advisers, in a private meeting last week, said their boss needs to add more hopeful, optimistic and unifying messages to balance his harsh law-and-order rhetoric.

Why it matters: They're deeply concerned about "brutal" internal polling for the president in the aftermath of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd's killing.

James Bennet has resigned as editor of the New York Times' editorial page, the paper announced Sunday.

Why it matters: Bennet had been under fire for green-lighting an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that called on President Trump to "send in the troops" in order to quell violent protests over the death of George Floyd. Times employees organized a protest on social media and claimed that publishing the op-ed put black staff in danger.

Demonstrations over the death of George Floyd continued across the nation on Sunday as activists and lawmakers hit the cable news circuit to react to the past week's events.

The latest: Both acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Attorney General Bill Barr said on Sunday they don't believe there is "systemic racism" among law enforcement in the U.S. Meanwhile, calls by activists to "defund the police" are growing louder as largely peaceful protests continue for yet another week.

Protests against police violence and racism have sharpened the focus of a long-standing debate about the place for and relevance of Confederate-era monuments and iconography.

What's happening: In some cities, monuments have become a hub for demonstrations, while others have been vandalized or toppled by protesters. In some instances, government officials have ordered them to be removed altogether.

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) visited the newly renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., where demonstrators held a massive protest Saturday over the death of George Floyd, according to Fox 5 D.C.

What they're saying: "I think the people in D.C. and around the nation are sending a mighty powerful and strong message to the rest of the world that we will get there," Lewis, the last living speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, said.

"I do not think we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country," Chad Wolf, the acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday.

Why it matters: It's a position that has been publicly echoed by a number of top Trump administration officials over the last week of nationwide protests against police brutality, including Attorney General Bill Barr and national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that growing calls to "defund the police" are not about eliminating police departments, but about reinvesting funds toward "the resources that our communities need."

Why it matters: Some activists say the only solution to fixing systemic issues in law enforcement is to defund and dramatically scale back police forces nationwide. But some Republicans, including President Trump, have seized on the politically charged slogan to paint Democrats as radicals.

Attorney General Bill Barr defended his decision to forcibly remove protesters from outside of the White House last week, claiming on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that the media is lying about the protesters being peaceful and that there was no connection between the incident and President Trump's visit to St. John's Church.

Why it matters: Barr has faced calls for accountability over the use of irritants and smoke balls on protesters in Lafayette Park on Monday before Trump's photo op at St. John's. A number of reporters on the scene insist that the protesters were peaceful, but Barr called it "one of the big lies that the media seems to be perpetuating at this point."

Joe Biden will travel to Texas to meet with the family of George Floyd to offer condolences before Floyd’s funeral service on Tuesday, the New York Times first reported and Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: Biden's visit follows more than a week of massive protests across the United States against police violence and systemic racism.

80% of Americans believe that the current situation in the United States is "out of control," according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters.

Why it matters: The dual crises of the coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest have Americans pessimistic about the state of the country.

President Trump announced in a tweet Sunday that he has ordered the National Guard to begin withdrawing from Washington, D.C.

Why it matters: The presence of federal law enforcement in the nation's capital had been a point of contention between Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who described it as an "invasion of our city" on "Fox News Sunday."

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that President Trump's response to the George Floyd protests, including the forcible clearing of demonstrators outside the White House last week, has had the effect of turning out even more protesters over the past few days.

Why it matters: Protests in Washington on Saturday were likely the largest yet, lasting all day and remaining largely peaceful amid a reduced federal law enforcement presence.

Joe Biden leads President Trump in Michigan 53% to 41%, doubling his lead over the incumbent since January, according to a poll of 600 likely Michigan voters conducted by EPIC-MRA for the Detroit Free Press.

Why it matters: Michigan, which Trump won by more than 10,000 votes in 2016, is considered an important battleground state in the upcoming election.

A number of prominent Republicans and military officials are wavering on whether to support the president's re-election in November, the New York Times reports.

The big picture: Some legacy figures in the Republican Party are reportedly weighing how public to be about their opposition to Trump, especially in the wake of blistering criticism from former Defense Secretary James Mattis and other respected military officers about the president's handling of the George Floyd protests.

Demonstrators on Saturday pulled down a statue of Williams Carter Wickham, a Confederate general during the Civil War, in Richmond, Virginia, AP reports.

Why it matters: Confederate monuments have been a flashpoint in the protests against police brutality and racism that have swept across the country over the past two weeks.

The structural failings in American policing begin with officers' training, which largely focuses more on using force than reducing the need for it.

Why it matters: While holding officers accountable is most important in stopping them from using excessive force, training that focuses on empathy, fairness and de-escalation could lead to fewer violent conflicts between officers and the communities they serve, according to law enforcement experts.

The U.S. Marines have issued a directive ordering the removal of all public displays of the Confederate flag, including from bumper stickers, posters, mugs, posters and clothing.

Why it matters: In a statement, the Marines said the flag has been "co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps."