Tuberville passes amendment to strip funding of local governments that defund police departments

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday night passed an amendment to the Senate Democrats’ fiscal year 2022 budget resolution which strips federal funding from local governments that defund law enforcement departments. The amendment passed 99-0, with every Democrat voting in favor of Tuberville’s proposal, a noteworthy accomplishment for a freshman senator.

In a surprising turn of events, Democrats swiftly jumped on the opportunity to distance themselves from efforts to “defund the police,” which is widely unpopular with the American public.

Seems like all Senate Democrats agree – the “Defund the Police” movement is dangerous and UNPOPULAR with Americans. pic.twitter.com/qCbEuRhirS

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) August 10, 2021

“Believe it or not, people back home actually listen to what we say up here,” said Tuberville. “To some local leaders across the country, the far-Left rally cry of ‘Defund the Police’ is not just DC rhetoric. They’re acting on it. More than 80 percent of law enforcement in America is conducted by state and local police departments. 80 percent. These men and women are community heroes. We should invest in all of them. But local leaders across the country have decided the woke thing to do is cancel their city’s police force.

“My amendment is pretty simple. If your city council wants to defund their police, don’t expect the federal government to make up the difference,” he added. “The American taxpayers in Alabama [shouldn’t] have to pick up the tab for the local leaders in Oregon and Minnesota who value the woke ‘Defund the Police’ movement over their own community’s safety.

Tuberville concluded, “I call on my colleagues to support our law enforcement by voting yes for this amendment. Opposing my amendment is a vote in support of Defunding the Police and against our men and women in blue.”

By way of the amendment’s passage, Alabama’s junior senator has seemingly forced Senate Democrats to abandon their support for the progressive “defund the police” movement.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL