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President calls for ‘peaceful protest’ while Memphis police will release video of Black motorist being beaten by five officers
Good morning, US politics blog readers. This evening, police in Memphis will release video of Tyre Nichols being beaten to death by five officers who were yesterday charged with murder. Amid fears the footage could raise tensions over policing and racial justice nationwide, Joe Biden yesterday called for “peaceful protest” and condemned acts of violence. At the Capitol, police are reportedly increasing security to get ahead of potential unrest. The president spent much of the last two years encouraging lawmakers to pass a bill that would have reformed policing with the aim of stopping such killings, but the effort ultimately failed. We’ll see if such legislation gets renewed momentum amid the outrage over Nichols’ death.
Here’s what else is happening today:
The GOP is convening in California to elect a new chair of the Republican National Committee, with incumbent Ronna McDaniel facing challenges from Harmeet Dhillon and Mike Lindell. Some in the party, most notable the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, have said it’s time for change at the top of the GOP after it underperformed in two consecutive elections.
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, will brief reporters at 2pm.
The House of Representatives has convened and will consider a bill to restrict the president’s ability to withdraw oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve unless there is an increase in the percentage of federal land from which oil and gas is being produced. Biden and the Democrats oppose the measure.
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