Mitch McConnell Refers to America’s ‘Original Sin’ in Push for Police Reform

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) referred to America’s “original sin” in the context of a discussion about police reform, following nationwide protests after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Floyd was killed in the custody of police, as officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and three other officers also face criminal charges.

The Washington Times reported Tuesday that McConnell had tapped Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to help lead Republican efforts to pass federal legislation on police reform — though policing is primarily a local responsibility.

“We’re still wrestling with America’s original sin,” McConnell said, according to the Times. “We try to get better, but every now and then its perfectly clear we’re a long way from the finish line. I think the best way for Senate Republicans to go forward on this is to listen to one of our own whose had these experiences [as a Black American].”

It is not clear exactly what McConnell meant by “original sin,” but McConnell has used the term before to refer specifically to slavery.

In a statement last year marking the 400th anniversary of the day slavery was brought to the U.S., McConnell said:

In many ways slavery is the United States of America’s ‘original sin.’ This systematic racist exploitation wove its way into the colonies’ economies and societies. Almost two centuries later, the disgusting practice was a stumbling block in our founding debates, ultimately allowed to continue for the sake of union. Some of our founders participated personally even as they argued the philosophical case for equality under God and under law.

The Constitution does not mention “slavery,” but counted slaves among “all other Persons” as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of allocating representation in the House of Representatives, as part of a North-Suth compromise.

Republicans have not released details of their plan, but have opposed some Democrats’ calls to “defund the police.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.