President Joe Biden plans to sign executive actions on police reform as early as this month, three people familiar with the plans told NBC, as his administration seeks to unilaterally jump-start the issue.
The executive actions could coincide with a similar effort by some Democratic lawmakers to revive the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which stalled on Capitol Hill after attempts to craft a bipartisan measure failed.
The focus on police reforms is part of what appears to be a last-ditch effort by the Biden administration to take action on some of Biden's signature initiatives in the run-up to his State of the Union Address on March 1.
The executive actions on policing are still being finalized and details are few, the sources said. They did not know how the actions would differ from steps the Justice Department took last year when it imposed new restrictions on "chokeholds" and “no-knock” warrants.
The White House held back on police reform executive actions last year out of concern that such moves could upend bipartisan negotiations on the issue in Congress. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, “I think there's a recognition and a commitment by the president to deliver on what he promised.”
