Pelosi won't apologize for saying Senate Republicans are 'trying to get away with the murder of George Floyd'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is standing by a harsh accusation she threw at Senate Republicans on Tuesday.

In an interview with CBS News, Pelosi accused Senate Republicans of admitting their police reform bill doesn't go far enough but refusing to revise it anyway, saying "they're trying to get away with murder, actually — the murder of George Floyd." The Senate GOP called for Pelosi to apologize for those "disgusting comments," but when asked on Wednesday, Pelosi said she would "absolutely, positively not."

"I think you in the press have given them far too much credit for a bill that does nothing," Pelosi said Wednesday after acknowledging her comment about Floyd's death. "You're saying, you have their bill, they have theirs. Their bill does nothing," she continued.

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Senate Republicans' police reform bill would encourage law enforcement departments to restrict the use of chokeholds — it wouldn't outright ban them, but would withhold aid from those who don't adhere to the new guidelines. New training measures would also be conditional to receive funding, but other hot-button issues such as no-knock warrants and qualified immunity aren't explicitly mentioned in the bill. House Democrats' proposal would ban no-knock warrants in drug cases and ban chokeholds, as well as create a federal registry of police misconduct. Senate Democrats blocked the Republican proposal on Wednesday.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.