President Joe Biden began his Thursday by signing a trio of bipartisan bills designed to aid law enforcement agencies across the country. Meanwhile, his Department of Justice announced $139 million in grants to hire more than 1,000 police officers.
It was a far cry from the “defund the police” movement that resonated in Democratic circles just a few months ago, and Biden said as much in his comments during the signing ceremony.
“It’s going to require more resources, not fewer resources,” the president said of police funding. “That’s why my administration is investing in the community policing we know works.”
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES $139 MILLION TO HIRE MORE THAN 1,000 POLICE OFFICERS
In many ways, the scene was more reminiscent of the 1990s tough-on-crime era than the defund movement of 2020, as Democrats continue to distance themselves from the slogan.
“Take a look at President Biden’s record. He’s been in favor of good law enforcement and adequate law enforcement across the nation since he served in the Senate,” Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was quoted as saying.
Last year, Biden’s record on crime came under fire from no less than then-President Donald Trump, who repeatedly attacked him on the campaign trail for his role in the 1994 crime bill that critics say contributed to mass incarceration. That legislation was part of then-President Bill Clinton’s campaign promise to federally fund an additional 100,000 police officers.
Democrats have moved on this issue since then. But with rising crime rates and police departments facing increased costs, resignations, and difficulties recruiting, both parties are throwing support behind law enforcement.
Biden signed three bills at the ceremony, the Protecting America’s First Responders Act, the Confidentiality Opportunities for Peer Support Counseling Act, and the Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act. The first is designed to offer improved access to benefits for first responders disabled in the line of duty. The second establishes requirements for peer support counseling programs and ensures confidentiality for those who use them. The third ensures anyone who kills or tries to kill U.S. federal officers on foreign soil can be prosecuted in the United States.
“If you attack our agents, you will not escape our justice,” Biden said of the latter bill.
All three enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support. The COPS Act passed in the House 424-3, with only “Squad” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Cori Bush voting no.
While the Democratic establishment never fully supported the defund movement, any lingering perception that the party played a role in spiking crime rates could hurt its candidates in the 2022 elections.
“The next election will have a ton of public safety and law enforcement discussion,” said Minneapolis-based Republican strategist Amy Koch. “The folks on the side of law enforcement will have a massive advantage, and that’s the Republicans.”
Minneapolis voters shot down an attempt to replace the city’s police department with a Department of Public Safety earlier this month. Since coming under fire for the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white officer in May 2020, Minneapolis is one of many cities dealing with a large uptick in violent crime.
The movement appears to be fading even in America’s most liberal cities. Seattle leaders are debating a proposed $10 million cut to its police department, even though the city has lost more than 300 officers in recent months and alongside a 40% increase in 911 calls for shots fired. Seattle mayor-elect Bruce Harrell defeated a more liberal candidate in part by attacking her past support for defunding the police and said the proposal is “in direct conflict with what Seattle voters demanded just last week.”
Koch acknowledges that more modest proposals to reform police could work but have been overshadowed by radical rhetoric, a point she shares with Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.
“[Defund the police] was a bad slogan,” Bannon said. “Defunding the police sounded to people like it was taking away money from crime prevention. It was more a case of reallocating police resources to deal with crime in a more comprehensive manner. I think the concept was fine.”
Bannon applauded the bipartisan nature of the three new bills. But the political damage may have already been done for Democrats when it comes to the midterm elections.
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Voters are more focused on ending the pandemic and boosting the economy than on crime, Bannon argues. The issue of policing isn’t top of mind the way it was in the 1990s, but Biden’s lengthy record on the issue is looking better with time.
“The idea of attacking crime and domestic disturbances in a comprehensive fashion is still with us,” Bannon said. “I think the idea of defunding the police has come and gone.”
