The House of Representatives approved a nonbinding resolution to condemn the "defund the police" movement, which became a popular slogan during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
The House approved the measure 337-61, with all Republicans voting in favor. Republicans passed the resolution during National Police Week.
The resolution said calls to defund the police increased violence toward law enforcement and expressed condolences to families of police killed in the line of duty.
"Under Joe Biden and far left leadership, the safety of America's law enforcement has been sacrificed for the sake of the Democrats pro-criminal agenda," Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. said, according to The Hill. "Lawless liberals handicap our police from doing their jobs with failed bail reform like my home state in New York and pro-criminal policies that appease the far-left Democrats' defund the police agenda."
In a statement, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a member of "The Squad," blasted the resolutions passed during National Police Week.
"Resolutions that mislead the public about violent crime rates, legislation that increases the availability of deadly weapons in our communities, and bills that fuel xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments do not make our communities safer–for our children, for our most vulnerable neighbors, for law enforcement, other first responders, or anyone else," Bush wrote in a statement this week.
Advocates for defunding the police said the money should be reallocated to mental health services or other first responders, according to The Hill, while those opposed believe it demonized police and could have dangerous effects, the Hill said.
House Democrats have countered that the Republican Study Committee released a budget proposal in March calling for reducing funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services program.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he hadn't looked into the RSC's budget.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.