Scalise: Reform, Don't Defund Nation's Police Departments

House Democrats are expected to roll out a package on police reform as calls grow to defund police departments across the country, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Monday he agrees that reform is needed, but defunding police departments would be going too far. 

"As far as the Democrat package, I'm not sure what they will be rolling out," the Louisiana Republican said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "Obviously, we all mourn the death of George Floyd. We want to see justice carried out, and I think, you know, you are finally seeing that in Minneapolis."

However, Scalise said he does not think that defunding police departments is the answer. 

"You are even seeing on the left debate, where, like you pointed out, the mayor of New York is for defunding police and the governor of New York is not," said Scalise. "Joe Biden is trying to play both ends of this and hide out in his bunker [and] not directly address it while yet trying to embrace the defund movement. He ought to be very vocal about where he is on this."

On Sunday, a majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to disband the local police department and replace it with a new model of public safety following the death of Floyd, who died after now-fired officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck while detaining him.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and the three officers who stood nearby as he held down Floyd have also been fired and are facing criminal charges. 

Scalise said he agrees that there have been "so many abuses of power in any position of law enforcement [and] there needs to be accountability. We have been talking about that for a long time as well. And so, you know, accountability and justice need to be served."

He added that there have been police departments nationally that have experienced serious problems, forcing them to enter into consent decrease with the Department of Justice, and in Minneapolis, "they have had some problems that didn't go addressed."

• DHS' Wolf: Administration's 'Early Action' Quelled Protest Violence
• AG Barr: Nation's Law Enforcement Is Not Systematically Racist