Biden rejects DC police reform bill passed by Congress.

President Biden Vetoes Congressional Effort to Overturn DC Police Reform Bill

The District of Columbia’s police reform bill will remain in effect thanks to a veto by President Joe Biden.

Biden vetoed a congressional effort to overturn the bill on Thursday, which is the three-year anniversary of George Floyd‘s murder at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin.

BIDEN AND REPUBLICANS BLAME EACH OTHER FOR DEFAULT THEY INSIST WON’T HAPPEN

“This morning, the president also vetoed a congressional Republican-led disapproval resolution that would have nullified crucial police reforms, many enacted in the District of Columbia on an emergency basis in 2020, after George Floyd’s murder,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “[These include] banning chokeholds, setting important restrictions on use of force and deadly force, improving access to body-worn camera recordings, and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force.”

The district council passed the reforms last year, but all local legislation in Washington is subject to congressional oversight. The Republican-led House passed a disapproval resolution in April, and Senate Republicans forced a vote in the upper chamber as well, sending the resolution to the president’s desk.

Biden vowed to veto the bill and chose the symbolically important anniversary of Floyd’s murder to follow through.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who helped force the Senate vote, lashed out at Biden over the move.

“With today’s veto, President Biden rejected a bipartisan and commonsense effort to make our nation’s capital safer,” Vance said. “The millions of Americans who visit Washington and the brave men and women of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department deserve far better. It’s a shame they won’t get it from this administration.”

Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats joined all Republicans in backing the measure.

Floyd’s murder set off nationwide protests in the summer of 2020, along with widespread calls for police reform, which the press secretary alluded to in her remarks.

“The president has repeatedly said we have an obligation to make sure that all people, all Americans, are safe and that public safety depends on public trust,” Jean-Pierre said. “It is a core policy of this administration to provide law enforcement the resources they need for effective, accountable community policing.”

Several of those reforms focus on prohibiting the use of neck restraints, increasing access to body camera footage, and revising officer discipline procedures. They will now remain in effect in the district.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

After the veto, Biden called on Congress to pass a different bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which enacts further police reforms at the state and local levels.

“It is up to Congress to send this bill to his desk, and once they do, he will sign the law,” Jean-Pierre said.