On Wednesday, congressional negotiators said they were stopping bipartisan discussion on a bill that would look at police reform in the U.S. because approval just wasn't going to happen. The bill was sparked by George Floyd's killing.
President Joe Biden has been pressuring lawmakers to make some headway on the bill, setting a deadline for the anniversary of Floyd's death on May 25. But when that date was not met, the talks continued to crumble.
Senator Cory Booker said every avenue was explored and a deal could not be made.
"After months of exhausting every possible pathway to a bipartisan deal, it remains out of reach right now," Booker said. "Even after working collaboratively with and securing the support of policing groups like the Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Chiefs of Police for our proposals."
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Senator Tim Scott, Booker's counterpart, shared that he was "deeply disappointed that Democrats have once again squandered a crucial opportunity to implement meaningful reform to make our neighborhoods safer and mend the tenuous relationship between law enforcement and communities of color."
Floyd's family has met with President Biden and lawmakers in Washington, urging them to put forth police reform.
On Wednesday, Biden said he still hopes for meaningful change in policing.
"I still hope to sign into law a comprehensive and meaningful police reform bill that honors the name and memory of George Floyd because we need legislation to ensure lasting and meaningful change," Biden said in a statement. "But this moment demands action, and we cannot allow those who stand in the way of progress to prevent us from answering the call."
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The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was passed in March and included an effort to reform qualified immunity, often used to protect the liability of officers in civil legal actions, among other measures focused on overhauling policing.
Republican Rep. and former police officer Pete Stauber shared that productive negotiations stalled, as he said many Democrats "grew tired of my strong support for law enforcement," the Star Tribune reported.
"Democrats ultimately chose to push forward policies that would take resources away from law enforcement and make our communities less safe. Their attempts to defund the police were incredibly frustrating and downright unacceptable," Stauber said.
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Reports say that this has closed the door on police reform talks in Congress. Rep. Karen Bass, the lead House Democrat negotiator for the bill, is calling on the Biden administration to step in and take action to reform policing "to the full extent they can," Politico reported.
"Whether that's an executive order, whether that's issuing instructions, whatever they can do, we need the administration to act now, because we don't have any particular faith or hope that we will be able to get reforms passed," she said.
