Republican Civil War on Criminal Justice Reform, Explained

The key question in the fight against criminal justice reform lies with President Donald Trump.

How much does it really want to go?

While Trump has declared his support for the legislation, his calls for the bill are insignificant compared to those he has formulated for other legislative priorities such as the border wall. And even when he expressed his support, his own party remains very divided on the issue.

On one side, there is a growing number of Republicans, including Sens. Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott and Rand Paul, who are part of a GOP group insisting on lobbying the Senate for it to support the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at reforming criminal justice to reduce prison sentences for people incarcerated in the federal system. Last Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he would introduce the bill, although he had strangely hesitated to do so until this week.

At the same time, other Senate Republicans – including Senator Tom Cotton – have played a leading role in opposing the bill and argue that this could give a chance to violent criminals.

The result is a split between Republicans at a time when more and more everything is partisan: there is a small but dedicated group of Republicans for whom criminal justice reform has a personal meaning; has another subgroup of Republicans who are worried that the "law and order" party seems to have a low profile for crime, which as an investigation the campaign's activities in narrower electoral circles, does not really know where he is in spite of his official support.

As reported by the German newspaper Lopez de Vox, the bill itself contains a relatively modest package of reforms that would only apply to a small fraction of the prison population in general, but that would still be one of the most important criminal justice reform efforts of Congress. has been going on for years. Legislation includes key provisions to reduce recidivism and mandatory minimum sentences.

Until now, it is not clear exactly what will be the opposite force of the Republican Party.

Jared Kushner advocated for criminal justice reform as a key legislative goal

His support for criminal justice could go against Trump's previous positioning in his "harsh" campaign Against Crime, "but the key to understanding the White House's pressure for criminal justice reform begins with President Jedy's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has been charged with many policies. And it's important to remember that Kushner's father, Charles, was sentenced to two years in prison for illegal contributions to the campaign and was released in 2006.

In November, Trump returned to Kushner a lot of credit for his work, the caller at an event devoted to the issue. "He worked very hard. He feels very deeply, "said Trump. And earlier this week, Kushner made a rare media appearance on Fox News to promote the bill.

In recent months, Kushner has been a strong advocate for these reforms and the tax benefits they offer. (An Axios report also indicated that a support from the Fraternal Police Order had appeased some of Trump's personal concerns about how the bill would play with the interests of law enforcement.

The idea of ​​a criminal justice reform has gained popularity, especially among donors. the right wing and the liberals, who have adopted their own sentencing stance, have led the two countries to agree on the concerns that the explosion of the American prison population is costly and unfair.

Despite that, the bipartisan bill was mainly based on the rear brake. Now, as Republicans bid farewell to their control over the house, the lame duck session seems to be one of the last opportunities to do anything before Congress momentum changes again.

Since he backed the measure, Trump slightly pushed McConnell toward a vote before the end of the current term – and even stated that he was open to his attachment to a last package of expenses that Congress needs to pass before the end of the year.

While Trump and others requested a Senate vote on the First Step Act, a group of Senate Republicans, including Cotton, rebelled against the legislation and feared that it could offer early release to those who committed more violent crimes. Indeed, according to Cotton's comments, Cotton insisted that the law included a "19459064" loophole that would reduce the penalties imposed on criminals, even if they had a longer criminal history. (Proponents of the bill say that people who participate in reintegration programs should be considered "low risk" even before being allowed "pretrial detention". which includes programs outside the prisons that are still under close government supervision.)

Cotton, one of the most vocal opponents of the bill, argued that the bill could result in an outburst of crime and asserted that it would allow violent criminals to to save their sentences. Proponents of the bill say he is misrepresenting what he can do – and notes that those who benefit from rehabilitation programs will be limited to those who have not committed a number of serious crimes. Senators John Kennedy and Dan Sullivan are among the Republicans who have questioned the validity of the bill.

The National Sheriff's Association also echoed some of Cotton's concerns. She had previously asked Trump to withdraw her support.

"It is reported that the First Step Act will release dangerous criminals into our communities without meaningful professional training," said Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs' Association, in a statement. "The bill does not provide for the treatment of addiction or the individual and family counseling services needed throughout the process for successful reintegration into society."

If these counterpoints seem familiar to you, that's the case. is because they are the same ones that Republican opponents have long used to repel any changes to the strict sentencing measures they attribute to the reduction of drug-related crimes. for example, even argued that the US had a problem of under-incarceration, even though the country had the highest incarceration rate in the world.

In 2016, when lawmakers also attempted to tackle a criminal justice reform bill, Republicans who opposed it at the time, including Trump's current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that the f easing the penalties could undermine the effectiveness of the forces of order.

"Mandatory minimums and law enforcement have resulted in a dramatic reduction in crime over the past 25 years, a feat we can not afford to make," they wrote. in a letter to the Senate leaders.

Activists say Trump's support could be more aggressive

Trump himself has repeatedly stated his support for the bill, but has only called in fact for his call to the Senate movement in recent days, as the lame duck session of Congress is fast approaching Close.

But even if it takes the form of including it in its morning thrust on Twitter, some activists are skeptical of its support for the bill – compared to the support it has expressed for other legislation. "He made favorable statements about this bill, but he was not as energetic in pushing his bill as he put it on the wall," said Vanita Gupta of the Conference. on leadership at USA Today.

A source told Politico that Trump was actually adopting a "light" approach to passing the bill in Congress and said the president would be open to a little more insistence when he thought that he was losing speed.

Proponents of the legislation argue that this could be the last chance for Congress to bring something to fruition since the new Democratic House is likely to propose far more aggressive reforms than the Republican Senate would likely oppose.

"If this does not happen this year, it will probably never happen," said Senator Graham to the Washington Examiner. "Next year, you will have Democratic control of the House, she will probably go to places where I can not go, you will end up doing nothing."

However, it is unclear whether the lukewarm statements of Trump will be conclusive. enough to overcome the deeply rooted Republican opposition.

McConnell was reluctant to hold a vote on criminal justice reform. This is because Republican membership was changing.

McConnell's reluctance to hold a vote was due, in large part, to the split of the party. And as Vox's German Lopez points out, as he faces increasing pressure on a set of policies, he did not want to prioritize the laws that divided the caucus.

"In my lecture, there are more members who are against or undecided than or for her," McConnell said at a Wall Street Journal event last Monday.

Although we do know not quite sure why McConnell, who said last week that he did not think he had enough time to legislate, changed his mind, this may have something to do with the growing pressure exerted by the White House on the bill, and we know that McConnell is willing to "show them a body," which means he is willing to introduce legislation that, to his knowledge, could fail.

McConnell now says that the Senate may have to remain in session on New Year's Christmas week to complete its work – perhaps hoping that this will dampen the appetite of the bill.

In the end, he there are fundamental differences between Mik e Lees and Chuck Grassleys and Lindsey Grahams, who argue that mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession are too severe and that the recidivism rate is too expensive, and the Tom Cottons who warn that the penalty for changes and day on rehabilitation could give the party finally low appearance in crime.

Lee also noted that criminal justice reform could be a victory for the Trump administration, given that legislators were ultimately unable to do so under President Barack Obama.

It is unclear for the moment how many Republicans will actually support the bill when the vote has taken place, so much so that the majority whip, John Cornyn, has been criticized for the accuracy of his accounts, according to Politico.

His lawyers estimate that about 30 Republican senators could lend their support, said Politico's Burgess Everett, while critics like Cotton say the actual number is much lower.