Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Wednesday doubled down on comparisons she made between the Republicans' proposed legislation reforming police practices and the murder of George Floyd.
She told MSNBC she "absolutely" would not apologize for the comparison made Tuesday and said Sen. Tim Scott's (R., S.C.) legislation would "make no difference."
"Absolutely, positively not," Pelosi said when asked if she would apologize to Republicans for the comparison. "I think you, frankly, in the press have given them far too much credit for a bill that does nothing. They're saying, well you have your bill, they have theirs. Yeah, our bill does something, theirs does nothing."
Pelosi told CBS News on Tuesday that she saw Scott's proposed legislation as "trying to get away with murder, actually, the murder of George Floyd." Scott's bill, the "Justice Act," proposes limiting police use of chokeholds and recommends new training and deescalation measures, among other things.
Pelosi said that she was aiming her criticism specifically at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.,) and said Scott was working in good faith, even as she dismissed Scott's bill as "a nonstarter."
Less than two hours after Pelosi's appearance on MSNBC, Democrats blocked Scott's legislation from proceeding in the Senate. House Democrats are expected to pass their own legislation imposing stricter reforms on police departments.