White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said President Donald Trump may take action on police reform via an executive order in the wake of protests, arson incidents, and riots following the death of George Floyd.
In an interview on Wednesday, she said Trump has been reviewing proposals on reform since he and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is black, met to discuss the issue. Some activists and leftists have called for defunding or abolishing police forces, sparking concerns about what might replace them.
“They had a very positive meeting with Senator Scott,” McEnany told “Fox & Friends.” “It was very productive and we do believe that we will have proactive policy prescriptions, whether that means legislation or an executive order.”
She added that “tremendous work” is being done on the matter, offering no specific policies.
Floyd died in police custody last month, sparking mass protests, four funerals, and has led to the destruction of monuments in the United States and European countries.
House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled sweeping police reform measures, which place a ban on chokeholds, limit the “qualified immunity” policy that shields officers from lawsuits, make body cameras mandatory, and establishes a database for officers that have negative marks on their records.
McEnany told reporters on Monday that the end to qualified immunity has no chance of passing Congress. Trump hasn’t yet reviewed the legislation, she added.
Some states and cities have also passed similar pieces of legislation, including in New York. The measures were criticized by top NYPD union officials, who alleged Democratic officials and Gov. Andrew Cuomo didn’t consult with them first.
In response to the “defund the police” calls from the city council, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told reporters on Wednesday that his officers are “obligated to [ensure] the public safety of [the city’s] residents.”
“I will not abandon that,” he said. “Until there is a robust plan that will protect” the residents of Minneapolis, “I will not leave them behind,” Arradondo said, according to a live stream of his press conference.
It came after City Council President Lisa Bender drew criticism when she said that calling the police when one’s home is broken into “comes from a place of privilege.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he doesn’t support abolishing the police force, and a now-viral video from earlier this week showed him being berated by a group of protesters who told him to leave.
Trump is expected to partake in a roundtable on Thursday in Texas to discuss the matter.
