Sunday shows – Police reform dominates

Multiple guests weighed in on police reform during the Sunday talk shows after weeks of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and new demonstrations broke out in the wake of a fatal police shooting of man in Atlanta.

“We can restructure the police forces, restructure, reimagine policing—that is what we are going to do,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on CNN while Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) expressed optimism during an appearance on Fox News that proposed policing reforms could garner broad support.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said on Fox News that it is “probably an appropriate time” to examine policing reforms. He declined to say, however, whether the Trump administration would support proposals introduced last week by House Democrats.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Clyburn: ‘I do fear the police’ By REBECCA KLAR    House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Sunday that he did not grow up in fear of police, but he now lives in fear of law enforcement officers, as do many young black Americans.  “I didn’t grow up in fear of police, even in a segregated environment, we never feared the police. All of a sudden, now I do fear the police. Young blacks fear the police,” Clyburn, 79, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Read the full story here

Carson: ‘This is probably a good time’ to ‘look at appropriate reforms’ to policing By ZACK BUDRYK   Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said Sunday it is “probably an appropriate time” to examine policing reforms but declined to say whether the Trump administration would support proposals introduced last week by House Democrats. Read the full story here

Carson says arguing over Trump’s claim that he’s best president for African Americans since Lincoln ‘is not productive’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson said Sunday that arguing over President Trump’s claim that he’s the best president for African Americans since Abraham Lincoln “is not productive.” Read the full story here

Bass: Fraternal Order of Police ‘very supportive’ of national standards By ZACK BUDRYK   Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) expressed optimism that proposed policing reforms could garner broad support, saying Sunday that the nation’s largest police organization had expressed support for some of House Democrats’ proposals. Read the full story here

GOP senator says he supports national chokehold ban By REBECCA KLAR    Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said Sunday he supports passing a national ban on chokeholds as part of police reform legislation.  Read the full story here

Sen. Tim Scott: Rayshard Brooks case shows de-escalation training is ‘so important’ By ZACK BUDRYK    Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the point man for Senate Republicans’ police reform bill, said Sunday that the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta illustrates the need for the de-escalation training provisions in the legislation.  Read the full story here

Stacey Abrams calls defunding police movement a ‘false choice idea’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Sunday that the U.S. is “being drawn into a false choice idea” with the movement to defund the police. Read the full story here

Omar defends call to dismantle Minneapolis police: You can’t reform a department ‘rotten to the root’ By REBECCA KLAR   Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defended calls to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department following the killing of George Floyd, saying the department in its current state can’t be reformed. Read the full story here

Lankford says it’s time to stop naming military bases after Confederate generals By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said Sunday that it’s time to stop naming military bases after Confederate generals. Read the full story here

Infectious diseases expert: ‘We’re in an unsure moment’ on impact of protests, reopenings on coronavirus numbers By ZACK BUDRYK   The director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention said Sunday that while coronavirus cases are on the rise in some states, it remains unclear what effects the end of state lockdowns and large anti-police brutality protests have had. Read the full story here

Kudlow calls $600 unemployment checks a ‘disincentive,’ expects them to stop in July By REBECCA KLAR   Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said Sunday the $600 checks being sent to Americans on unemployment as part of coronavirus relief efforts are expected to end in July, and called them a “disincentive” for people to get back to work. Read the full story here

Moore: ‘It’s going to take a while for this economy to get back on its feet’ By J. EDWARD MORENO    Economist Stephen Moore said during an interview on Sunday that though the fate of the economy is showing positive signs of recovery, it will be a while until it’s back to previous levels.  Read the full story here