Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on Friday said that not enough members of Congress are invested in the police reform law to pass, even in the wake of the tragic death of Tyrus Nichols.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “Symone,” Waters singled out Sens. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) for their opposition to leaving the filibuster, which blocks Democrats’ ability to pass police reform and other legislation.
“They’re not paying attention to this issue,” Waters told MSNBC’s Symone Sanders. “He would rather have the power to determine what happens in the Senate by using two votes for himself than anything else.”
A filibuster requires 60 votes to start and end debate for most legislation before a final vote can be called. Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate, meaning the rules allow Republicans to easily thwart Democratic legislative priorities.
Manchin and Sinema reaffirmed their commitment to the filibuster — even exchanging high-fives — when they appeared on stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this month.
Without those filibuster reforms and Republicans in control of the House, it is unlikely that Congress would have heeded the plea for action after Nichols’ death.
Footage of the attack on Nichols released Monday by the Memphis Police Department prompted nationwide protests and a renewed push for police reform.
The video shows the officer brutally assaulting and pepper-spraying the 29-year-old Black while yelling obscenities. Nichols was hospitalized for injuries sustained in the Jan. 7 attack and died three days later.
The five officers involved in the Nichols attack were fired from the department and charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.
The George Floyd Justice on Police Act passed the House in 2021 but never made it to the Senate.
The bill would expand liability for misconduct by law enforcement officers, limit some policing practices, increase transparency and data collection, and set training requirements, among other reform measures.
Waters said he has no hope for police reform legislation unless people continue to fight for change and elect officials who care about the legislation.
“Nothing is going to happen until people in the streets continue to protest and rally,” Waters said.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the Nichols family, called on President Joe Biden to re-engage the House of Representatives on the issue.
“It’s a shame that we didn’t use his tragic death to finally get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed,” Crump told CNN’s Dana Bash during an appearance on Sunday’s “State of the Union.”
The Congressional Black Caucus has requested a meeting with Biden this week to discuss justice reform.
“The brutal beating of Tire Nichols is a murder and a grim reminder that we still have a long way to go to address systemic police violence in America,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), who is the chairman of the caucus, in a statement Sunday.