After missed deadline, Congress looks for path to police reform deal

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on Capitol Hill continued to face a deep partisan divide over a policing overhaul package a day after blowing a deadline from President Joe Biden, who had urged Congress to pass a measure by the anniversary of George Floyd's death.

"I think it's June or bust," South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott told reporters Wednesday about the potential for a deal, adding that he feels lawmakers have "three weeks in June to get this done."

A bipartisan solution on policing legislation has eluded Congress over the past year. Members of Floyd's family renewed their push for reform legislation during a trip to Washington on Tuesday, the anniversary of Floyd's killing, meeting with leading lawmakers in between a White House visit with Biden.

Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump said the president told them "he doesn't want to sign a bill that doesn't have substance and meaning, so he is going to be patient to make sure it's the right bill, not a rushed bill."

But the divide among Minnesota's own delegation mirrors the stubborn division in Congress, with a sharp partisan split over what should happen moving forward.

"Democrats will have to recognize that this may come down to 80 percent of what we believe is important if we wish to get something done," Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat, said in an interview Wednesday. "And that means perhaps having to wait for the final 20 percent, or settling for nothing."

Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican, opposes Democrats' push to limit qualified immunity, which can be used to protect the liability of officers in civil legal actions. But Rep. Ilhan Omar was one of 10 Democratic lawmakers who signed a joint letter to congressional leaders last week, saying "we are concerned by recent discussions that the provision ending qualified immunity for local, state, and federal law enforcement may be removed in order to strike a bipartisan deal in the Senate."

Any major change made to win over GOP votes could risk the support of Democrats. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is prominently working with two Democrats, Rep. Karen Bass of California and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, on a potential path forward.

Scott and Stauber, a former Duluth police officer, sponsored their own version of police reform last year that is less far-reaching than the legislation named for George Floyd that the Democrat-controlled House passed in March. Stauber said in a statement Tuesday that he has been involved in talks on the issue with the other three lawmakers, including a meeting last week.

"The biggest sticking point during these meetings is still qualified immunity," Stauber said. "I do not support changes to qualified immunity, and I have made my position on this issue crystal clear in these meetings."

In an interview this week, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith emphasized her stance that qualified immunity should be reformed and that there should be a national use-of-force standard. But she was reluctant to get ahead of the current talks aimed at reaching a compromise.

"I'm not going to negotiate here for my friend Senator Cory Booker," Smith, a Democrat, said. "I've spoken to him about this, and I look to Senator Scott and Senator Booker to, I hope, come up with a solution that allows us to deliver this kind of accountability."

Minnesota's senior senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, struck a similar tone, saying in a statement that Booker "has been relentless in his pursuit of justice and I am hopeful that we will reach an agreement with Republicans."

The Democrats' slim majorities in the House and Senate only add to the balancing act facing lawmakers. At a news conference Monday, Omar said she was "clearly disappointed" to see the measure stalled in the Senate.

"I really think it is important to those who are negotiating with the Republican senators to continue to push for that conversation and for our president to continue to use his relationships and leverage with the senators so that we are able to finally pass that and get transformative legislation enacted in our country in regards to police reform," Omar said.

In Minnesota, state legislators continue to discuss a dozen police reform proposals put forward by House Democrats, with nearly all of the debate taking place behind the scenes before a likely mid-June special session.

On Tuesday, however, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, cast new doubt over the prospects of policing legislation this session when he posted a video on Twitter pleading for more resources for police while expressing skepticism around the urgency for new police accountability measures.

Citing recent reports of gun violence around Minneapolis since the Legislature's regular session ended May 17, Gazelka said "more police" were the solution to the surging spate of violence in the city.

"It's not reforming police right now," Gazelka said. "That should not be the message. Get the police out on the streets, everybody cheer them on as they take back our streets, and we need more of them in Minneapolis."

A similar partisan view could still be ahead in Washington even if Scott, Bass and Booker reach an agreement. Republican Rep. Tom Emmer said in a statement that "efforts to reform our system of policing should be focused on providing more resources and training to our men and women in uniform, not less."

But Bass said in a Time magazine interview Tuesday that she was "very hopeful" about sending a bill to Biden soon, adding, "Senator Scott has said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. And I agree with him on that."

Staff writers Stephen Montemayor, Jessie Van Berkel and Jim Spencer contributed to this report.

Hunter Woodall • 612-673-4559