Top Justice official pressed on past views after Biden’s call to fund police

A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official was pressed on her position regarding defunding the police during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, one week after President Biden called for funding the police during his first State of the Union.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) asked Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, about her position on “defund the police” — a push to redirect funds from police departments toward other government agencies to target areas such as mental health and homelessness.

Cornyn pressed Clarke on a 2020 op-ed she wrote that was published in Newsweek in which she called for investing less in police and more in social workers, school social supports and mental health aid, among other areas. The op-ed came just weeks after George Floyd, a Black man, died under the knee of a white police officer, reigniting protests around the country over racial injustice and police brutality.

The Texas Republican asked if Clarke regretted the op-ed and if the movement to defund the police contributed to a rise in crime.

“I do not support defunding the police,” Clarke replied. “I believe that our law enforcement faces lots of challenges today. You mentioned mental health, that is one example.”

“I’m representing the Justice Department today, and we are dispensing … hundreds of millions in support in grants to support our local and state law enforcement across the country,” she said when pressed again. “I know that we need law enforcement equipped with the resources necessary to stand up to violent crime, to hate crime and other kinds of crimes that are carried out across the country.”

Clarke was later pressed on her position by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) as well.

“I’ve never supported defunding the police. I’m here representing the department, which certainly does not support defunding the police,” Clarke said.

Clarke was previously grilled on her position on the matter during her confirmation hearing last year, saying at the time she did not support defunding the police.

Her comments during the hearing come one week after Biden’s first State of the Union address, in which he called for funding law enforcement.

“We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities,” the president said.