Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) doubled down on criticism of Democrats after bipartisan police reform negotiations ended. Scott, a proponent of police reform without defunding the police, accused Democrats of “walking away” from bipartisan talks after “months of progress.”
"After months of making progress, I am deeply disappointed that Democrats have once again squandered a crucial opportunity to implement meaningful reform...Crime will continue to increase while safety decreases, and more officers are going to walk away from the force because my negotiating partners walked away from the table," Scott said in a statement on Wednesday.
He continued criticizing Democratic negotiators of abandoning potential for bipartisan reform during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. He noted also that Democrats at the state and local levels have failed to implement effective policing reforms.
“Think about Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Portland, Seattle. This problem came to the federal government because of the failure of blue mayors and liberal city council members, for us to get here. So what we decided to do was to stay at the table and look for common ground. We found common ground,” Scott said. “Instead of moving forward on the areas where we were in agreement, they just simply walked away.”
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.@votetimscott: “So what we decided to do was to stay at the table and look for common ground. We found common ground..Instead of moving forward on the areas where we were in agreement, they just simply walked away.” pic.twitter.com/f2GcI8cu3n
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) September 27, 2021
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that there was a "wide gulf" between Republicans and Democrats on police reform that led to the end of negotiations.
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