Sen. Josh Hawley Confronts Ex-Biden Advisor on Gun Violence Policies and 'Defund the Police' Report

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

• 📌 Senator Josh Hawley questioned Gregory Jackson Jr., former Deputy Director at the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
• 👏 Hawley thanked Miss Cook for sharing her powerful story and for her presence at the hearing.

Jackson's Affiliations and Funding

• 🎯 Gregory Jackson Jr. also served as the Executive Director of the Community Justice Action Fund from 2021 to 2023 and is currently an executive adviser.
• 💰 The Community Justice Action Fund, which Jackson is affiliated with, uses Tides Advocacy Group as a fiscal sponsor, a group that receives funding from George Soros.

'Policymaker's Playbook' Report

• 📜 Hawley presented a report authored by Jackson as Executive Director, titled 'A Policymaker's Playbook to Reduce Gun Violence Without Policing Communities.'
• 🗣️ The report advocates for reimagining how the state serves its citizens and suggests that police departments traumatize residents through racist overpolicing.
• 🚫 It states that the answer is not to add more money to police budgets and questions the idea of denying policing to vulnerable communities.

Jackson's Response and Denials

• 🚫 Jackson stated he does not advocate for defunding law enforcement and has led efforts to invest $42 billion in law enforcement.
• ❓ He claimed he never advocated for defunding the police directly, but rather for a comprehensive approach to reducing violence.
• 🧐 Hawley pressed Jackson on whether he renounced the report, highlighting the discrepancy between its contents and his current statements.

Alternative Investments Proposed

• 💡 The report suggests investing in programs like safe space initiatives led by lesbian, gay, bisexual, twospirit, trans, and gender non-conforming people.
• ❓ Hawley repeatedly asked Jackson to define 'two spirit,' which Jackson could not fully explain, stating he was not completely aware of the language in the report he wrote.
• ⚖️ Hawley accused Jackson of wanting to invest in 'gobbledegook' and take money away from police officers, while Jackson countered that they reduced homicides by 31% and took offense at Hawley's implications.