House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Sunday asserted a once-frequent call from progressives to defund the police is not the direction the Democratic Party embraces.
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Pelosi pushed back on a slogan heard frequently during the 2020 elections.
“Make no mistake, community safety is our responsibility,” Pelosi said. “I quote one of my colleagues from New York, Ritchie Torres, a brand new member of Congress way on the left, saying that ‘defund the police’ is dead. That causes a concern with a few in our caucus. But public safety is our responsibility.”
She also pushed back on Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush’s insistence that it’s time to defund the police.
“With all the respect in the world for Cori Bush, that is not the position of the Democratic Party. Community safety, to protect and defend in every way, is our oath of office,” Pelosi replied.
“We're all concerned about mistreatment of people,” she said. “And that's why [California Democratic Rep.] Karen Bass had the Justice and Policing Act. And we would hope to get some of that done, whether it's no-knock, chokehold, or some of those issues, even if we can't get it all done.”
The drive to end to no-knock warrants has gained added attention since the Feb. 2 fatal shooting of Amir Locke in Minneapolis.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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