House Democrats were forced to delay the debate over four policing and public safety bills that were set to come to the floor on Thursday because of opposition from a coalition of progressive Democrats.
Members of the far-left “Squad” voiced opposition to the lack of “accountability measures” in one of the four bills up for consideration, threatening to tank the entire package.
The House on Thursday was scheduled to consider four measures bolstering law enforcement after moderate and progressive Democrats, following months of negotiations, struck a deal the day before. Key negotiators said the House would consider all four bills under a single rule, then vote on each one separately.
But shortly before the rule vote on Thursday, a spokesperson for Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said the congresswoman was opposed to one of the bills — sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) — and called for the other three measures to be considered separately.
The chamber must approve the rule before debating and holding final votes on each piece of legislation. Republicans traditionally vote against rules even if they support the legislation.
The Gottheimer bill would allocate federal grants to local law enforcement agencies that have fewer than 125 officers.
“Even the most barebones accountability measures like those included in the House-passed Justice in Policing Act were not incorporated into the Rep. Gottheimer bill, which would add nearly a quarter billion dollars in police funding over the next 5 years without addressing the crisis of police brutality — and this despite the strong and continued urging from civil rights and racial justice advocacy leaders to chart a more humane path,” Bush’s spokesperson wrote in a statement.
“As such, Congresswoman Bush maintains her opposition to that bill and supports decoupling its consideration from the other important public safety measures that the House should take up immediately,” the spokesperson added.
The procedural vote for the policing bills was initially scheduled to begin between 9:50 a.m. and 10 a.m., but the House went into recess at 9:55 a.m.
It is unclear which other progressive Democrats are opposed to the Gottheimer legislation and threatening to tank the slate of bills if the rule goes to the floor for a vote. Democrats currently hold a small 221-212 majority in the House, which means the caucus can only afford to lose four members.
The legislation has divided the Squad. On Wednesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a member of the progressive group, endorsed the package along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Earlier in the week, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) — also a member of the Squad — said he still harbored deep concerns about the strength of the accountability measures, particularly in the Gottheimer bill. He wants to see some effort to tackle no-knock warrants and choke holds while creating a national database of abusive officers.
“Those conversations have to be brought to the table as we talk about policing in this country,” he said, noting that the Gottheimer bill is the only one of the four bills not to have been approved at the committee level.
“Why are we pushing this bill forward without a committee markup? Without the accountability pieces?” he asked. “And why are we lumping it in with the other three, that are actually true public safety bills?”
It’s unclear if Bowman is among the liberals blocking the rule on Thursday.
When announcing a deal on Wednesday, key Democratic lawmakers noted that some of their colleagues may vote against the bills.
“Every member of the [Congressional Black Caucus] may not weigh in on it or vote for it — and I’m OK with that,” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the chairwoman of the Black Caucus, told reporters. “But we wanted to make sure we could say we’re doing the best we can at this time.”
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), the sponsor of one of the bills under consideration, sounded a similar note in regards to her progressive colleagues, telling reporters that while some may defect, “a bulk” of the caucus was behind the deal.
Mike Lillis contributed.