Former Vice President Joe Biden will not make defunding the police part of his 2020 platform.
Calls to defund police departments have risen amid nationwide protests against police brutality, with activists and even some lawmakers saying police department budgets should be slashed in favor of community-oriented programs and oversight. A campaign spokesperson for Biden said Monday that the presumptive Democratic nominee "does not believe that police should be defunded," and instead called for "reform."
Biden's statement called for "increased funding for public schools, summer programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment separate from funding for policing — so that officers can focus on the job of policing." Biden also supports funding for "community policing programs," "diversifying police departments," and "body-worn cameras."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) avoided explicitly supporting calls to defund police on Monday. Pelosi called choosing to reroute police funding to other community-centered action a "local decision," but added "that doesn't mean we're going to pile more money on to further militarize police."
Pelosi's comments came after the Democratic leaders unveiled their Justice in Policing Act on Monday, which is full of reforms that would affect police departments nationwide. The bill has more than 200 co-sponsors in the House and Senate so far, but none of them are Republicans.
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Dry skin, begone! 8 products to keep your skin supple while travelingThe Week Recommends Say goodbye to dry and hello to hydration
-
Sudoku medium: October 23, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
