Democrats Fail to Pass Police Reform by Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death

President Joe Biden failed to pass a police reform bill by his self-imposed deadline of May 25, or the anniversary of George Floyd’s death.

Biden called on Congress to pass a sweeping police reform bill by May 25, the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Floyd’s death led many Democrats and some Republicans to pass legislation that would address alleged problems concerning law enforcement.

“That’s not going to happen,” Politico‘s Olivia Beavers wrote Tuesday.

Democrats admitted they would likely make little progress by Biden’s deadline.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second-ranking Democrat, said, “I would be shocked if anything happened as soon as tomorrow. I was briefed as soon as last week.”

Durbin said he and other lawmakers had momentum on police reform until they started discussing specifics.

Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Scott (R-SC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) all took part in the negotiations.

“It felt good — there was a conversation on the floor with Cory and Tim and Lindsey Graham and myself. I felt good about it. But no sooner did the staff get together that they found some areas where they still need work,” Durbin remarked.

Democrats would need 10 Senate Republicans to sign onto a police reform bill to pass through the Senate. To get Senate Republicans on board, they might have to scrap one of Democrats’ police reform items, such as preserving qualified immunity, which is a legal standard to protect law enforcement officers while protecting communities.

Scott noted many lawmakers tried to strike a compromise rather than start “debating back and forth.”

“We need to find areas of compromise. We found some. So I’m optimistic,” Scott said.

Democrats’ legislative efforts grinded to a halt since they passed their $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill. Some senior Democrats believe they might have to delay the passage of their infrastructure package.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.