A Republican policing reform proposal collapsed in the Senate today when Democrats lined up to block it after criticizing the legislation as an inadequate response to nationwide calls for action to address police misconduct and racial injustice.
Here’s what happened: Senate Democrats denied Republicans the 60 votes needed on a procedural vote to begin debate on the bill, which was led by Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator.
The tally was 55-45. As a result, the vote failed, meaning that lawmakers will not be able to open debate, offer amendments, or move to a final vote on passage.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Doug Jones, and Independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, crossed party lines to vote “yes” on the procedural vote.
The move by Democrats caps weeks of calls from both parties to move quickly on police reform amid protests and civil unrest across the country following high-profile episodes of police use of deadly force that sparked a national backlash.
But efforts to find common ground have now largely devolved into bitter, partisan finger-pointing, underscoring how a deep partisan divide may result in stalemate on the issue on Capitol Hill.
What comes next: House Democrats are planning to bring a Democratic-crafted policing proposal to a vote in their chamber on Thursday and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said last week that she had hoped to bring the Democratic legislation to conference with the Senate GOP proposal to reconcile differences.
But the possibility of the two parties finding enough common ground to enact a reform measure now looks increasingly like a remote possibility. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was noncommittal today about bringing police reform back if Democrats block the Republican policing bill.
“Well, we will let you know,” McConnell said ahead of the vote. “It can be done under a motion to reconsider at any point.”
He changed his vote to “no” at the end of the vote, a procedural move that preserves his ability to call the measure back up for a re-vote later if he chooses.
McConnell said on the floor that he is “in strong support of the bill,” but “in order to have an opportunity to re-consider the vote without waiting for two days, I changed my vote and moved to re-consider, which means that it could come back at any time should progress be made.”
Two top Republican leaders — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Roy Blunt of Missouri — suggested on Tuesday that if Democrats filibuster the Scott policing reform bill, then it’s almost certainly dead for the year.
How both plans compare: While there is some overlap between the GOP and Democratic proposals, there are also key differences in the proposals that have created sticking points.
- The GOP plan has a major emphasis on incentivizing states to take action, and does not include an outright ban on chokeholds. Scott had argued that “we get very, very close to that place” by blocking federal grant funds to departments that don’t ban chokeholds themselves.
- The Democratic plan has a focus on setting national standards, such as mandates for federal uniformed officers to wear body cameras and banning chokeholds.
- Another major sticking point between Democrats and Republicans is whether to overhaul qualified immunity for cops so it’s easier to sue them in civil court. The House Democratic bill overhauls the standard, while Scott’s Republican bill does not.
