House Speaker Kevin McCarthy used the podium to trumpet the GOP as the party of law and order in a speech occasioned by National Police Week.
Taking aim at calls to “Defund the Police” that gained notoriety — if not popularity — in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, McCarthy said that all those who subscribed to the idea of defunding the police now have regrets.
“For every place that wanted to defund the police,” McCarthy said, “you know they regret it.”
There may not be a lot of regret, however, as multiple reports say that police funding is broadly up around the country. An ABC News report that found increased police spending in a large majority of American communities begins: “In Los Angeles, the county sheriff says local residents are in danger because ‘defunding has consequences,’ even though his agency’s budget is up more than $250 million.”
[Note: Police funding not quite the partisan issue many GOP influencers assert. President Biden also laments the “defund” idea, saying in his 2022 State of the Union address: “The answer is not to defund the police. It’s to fund the police. Fund them.”]
This National Police Week – and on Peace Officers Memorial Day – we recognize the absolute courage of officers across America. pic.twitter.com/1UGNR0bGMW
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 15, 2023
McCarthy’s sympathy for police, while touting their bravery, also revealed an unusual sensitivity among officers. Though they routinely face down tough and violent criminals and put their lives at risk in the line of duty, McCarthy says — jarringly — that “hostility” from liberals is enough to make cops quit.
More than half of all cops “have considered quitting,” McCarthy says, “because of anti-police hostility from the Defund the Police movement.”
More than half of law enforcement officers have considered quitting, and nearly 60% personally know a colleague who left, because of anti-police hostility from the Defund the Police movement.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 15, 2023
Tune in live as @housegop pays tribute to National Police Week:https://t.co/ZbCzklhtDL
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