Sen. Tim Scott ‘hopeful’ on police reform

GOP Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) on Sunday said he was optimistic about working with colleagues on the other side of the aisle on police reform.

Scott appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” during which host John Dickerson noted that the senator appeared to be more optimistic than he was last year with regard to negotiations on the issue.

“One of the reasons why I’m hopeful is because in a way this time my friends on the left aren’t looking for the issue; they’re looking for a solution,” Scott said. “And the things that I offered last year are more popular this year. That gives me reasons to be hopeful.”

Scott stated that he was finding Democratic support for his legislative proposal in response to criticisms of qualified immunity that would allow police departments to be sued and not individual officers.

“How do we change the culture of policing? I think we do that by making the employer responsible for the actions of the employee. We do that with doctors. We do that with lawyers. We do that with almost all of our industries. If we do that in law enforcement, the employer will change the culture,” Scott said.

The CBS host asked how common ground could be found between the two parties, noting that polls have found that 70 percent of Republicans do not consider President Biden to be the legitimately elected president.

Scott responded that Biden is “of course” the legitimately elected U.S. president, saying that common ground was found “by moving on. The election’s over.”

“Joe Biden is the president of the United States. … Now what we have to wrestle with is, can we spend [$6 trillion to $6.5 trillion] and raise taxes by [$4 trillion to $4.5 trillion] and create a better America? My answer is no because the American government can’t be responsible for everything,” Scott added.

How does America find common ground when polls indicate that 70% of the GOP feels the election was stolen? “By moving on,” @SenatorTimScott (R-SC) says. “The election is over. Joe Biden is the President of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/m8N0c0g9Vf

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 2, 2021

Scott gave the GOP’s formal response to Biden’s first joint address to Congress on Wednesday. In his address, Scott accused Biden of dividing the country.

“Our president seems like a good man. His speech was full of good words. But President Biden promised you a specific kind of leadership. He promised to unite a nation. … But our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes,” Scott said.

“COVID brought Congress together five times. This administration pushed us apart,” Scott added.