Van Jones praises Trump-backed criminal justice reform bill: ‘A Christmas miracle’

CNN commentator Van Jones on Wednesday praised the Senate and the Trump administration for their efforts to pass a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. 

“This is a Christmas miracle,” Jones, a prominent prison reform advocate, said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“You had, for the first time in more than a generation, both parties coming together to do something for people at the bottom,” he said.

President Trump “became, to the shock of everybody, the biggest, loudest champion on criminal justice … I got 99 conflicts with the Trump administration, prisons are not one.”

–@VanJones68 on the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill https://t.co/U2mkbrDTa4 pic.twitter.com/u7ZNML80OB

— New Day (@NewDay) December 19, 2018

Jones gave credit to  President Trump and senior advisor Jared Kushner for their role in pushing this legislation. 

“To his credit — and I don’t do this often, nobody’s tougher on Donald Trump when he’s wrong — Trump moved from talking about law and order and ‘lock ’em up’ to saying, listen, everybody deserves a second chance. Let’s take some proven programs … and do it at the federal level,” Jones said. 

{mosads}“He became, to the shock of everybody, the biggest, loudest champion on criminal justice,” Jones said. “I got 99 conflicts with the Trump administration, prisons are not one.”

His comments came the morning after the Senate voted 87-12 to pass the bill.

The legislation is aimed at reducing recidivism. It also includes multiple changes to sentencing laws and mandatory minimum prison sentences.

Its passage was viewed as a significant victory Trump and his senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Criminal justice reform was one of Kushner’s major policy goals since arriving in the White House. 

The bill must be approved by the House before it can be sent to Trump for his signature. 

“Criminal justice reform is about giving more Americans a chance at redemption. The House looks forward to sending it to the president to become law,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Twitter late Tuesday night.