How Republicans undermined their own pro-police message

WASHINGTON – House Republicans are using National Police Week to criticize Democrats for pushing to “defund the police,” but Republicans themselves have repeatedly proposed cuts to police funding .

The Republican Study Committee, a political group with most House Republicans among its members, presents an annual budget proposal that calls for eliminating the federal government’s main grant program for local police departments.

“Conservatives support our men and women (in) blue but should ask whether the government should get involved in enforcing laws at the state and local level, even if it is just a matter of funding,” said this year’s report. Republican Study Committee Budget said.

The Community Oriented Policing Services program is modest, representing only a fraction of one percent of the federal budget and supporting a tiny portion of police department personnel nationwide. But the proposed reduction suggests that Republicans’ support for state and local law enforcement is primarily a matter of cultural affinity and political division that does not outweigh their general aversion to law enforcement. towards the government.

At a news conference Wednesday with local law enforcement officials from across the country, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a former Republican study committee chairman, said that He was unaware of the group’s latest budget, which is intended to present policy aspirations, not something that will get an actual vote in the House.

“I have not looked at the details of the RSC budget,” Johnson said in response to a question from HuffPost. “There are a lot of nuances. They also add to other areas where you support law enforcement, because that’s the central theme of what we believe, as part of our worldview, as part of our political agenda .”

When Johnson chaired the Republican Study Committee, his Budget 2020 called for defunding state and local police.

This week, Republicans plan to vote on a series of bills intended to underscore their support for police, including a bill prohibiting Washington from rewriting its penal code and another aimed at speeding up the deportation of undocumented immigrants who attack the police. The bills are symbolic and unlikely to pass the Senate.

“Unfortunately for our House Republican colleagues, this week’s bills won’t be enough to hide the cuts they’ve proposed to law enforcement funding or the way they’ve turned their backs on officers who were protecting our democracy on January 6,” said Rep. Brendan. Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in an emailed statement.

“Even police officers are not immune to the Republican Party’s obsession with destroying vital programs,” Boyle said.

In March, when the Republican Study Committee released its budget, the White House criticized the Republicans for cutting police funding, noting that the pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law state budget deficits have been filled which avoided layoffs in the police. Biden also proposed increasing the COPS hiring subsidy.

Last year, the Community Policing Grant Program funneled $216 million to police departments across the country, funding 1,730 officer positions, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice. There were more than 800,000 police officers and detectives on the job in 2022, according to the latest data from the Department of Labor, so the grant has a small impact – but its impact is felt in every state.

“These grants put officers on the streets and protect our citizens from intentional criminals,” said Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas). said in a press release announcing grants for 13 officer positions in three police departments in his district. “I thank the Department of Justice for sending this money where it is needed in South Texas and I thank the officers ready to step up and serve their communities.”