Olivia Dalton, White House principal deputy press secretary, told reporters this week that Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to make sure that our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all.
Biden spoke with Nichols mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells by phone last week. The White House said he expressed his condolences and praised the family's courage and strength.
He said he was deeply pained and outraged by the videos of the brutal beating. He called the images horrific, and made a statement shortly after the videos were released. Biden said that it was another painful reminder of the deep fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day.
Attempts to re-start negotiations in Congress over police reform are already teetering toward an impasse.
Some senators have tried to revisit talks after Nichols died, but some are skeptical that they will reach an agreement that can pass in the new divided Congress.
It is the second time in three years that lawmakers have tried to make legislation for new rules on police practices. The previous effort came after the murder of George Floyd.
The committee's top Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, said Monday he had initiated a discussion with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, about one of the major sticking points of failed bipartisan police reform negotiations two years ago: qualified immunity for officers.
But before the White House meeting Thursday, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who has been a leading Republican negotiator for police reform, tweeted a series of tweets saying that discussions about resurrecting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act are a nonstarter. Even if a bill were passed, the new GOP-controlled House is unlikely to consider any proposal on the issue.
In March 2021, the Democratic-led House voted 220 - 212 to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The only Republican who voted for it, Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas, said he did so by mistake and that he opposes the bill. The vote led to months of talks with Scott, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N. J. and Karien Bass, then a Democratic House member, to craft legislation that could pass in the House and get 60 votes to break a filibuster in the Senate.
The two sides were about to make a deal on some provisions, like imposing limits on chokeholds and no knock warrants, providing mental health resources for officers and preserving records of misconduct. But the talks stalled over some irreconcilable differences, including whether to roll back qualified immunity for police officers, a priority of civil rights advocates that Republicans strongly oppose.