President Joe Biden marked the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd on Wednesday, on day after a school shooting that came as a cruel reminder of his powerlessness to rein in America’s violent demons.
It was to be a ceremony symbolizing reconciliation, in one of the White House’s state rooms, with families of victims of police violence alongside police representatives.
But the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas — in which 19 schoolchildren and two teachers died — was on everyone’s mind when Biden signed a decree described as historic by his administration, aimed at promoting accountability and tightening standards among federal law enforcement.
It came two years to the day after the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked protests against racism and police brutality that spread across the United States and globally.
The executive order is proof of “what we can do together to heal the very soul of this nation,” Biden said, repeating one of his favorite expressions.
Floyd, an African-American, was murdered by a police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly 10 minutes during an arrest.
Biden told Floyd’s seven-year-old daughter, Gianna, she was “getting so big” during the ceremony, surrounded by elected officials, members of the African-American community and the families of other victims of police violence.
He also reminded the crowd that the United States was a “great nation” made up of a vast majority of “good people” — remarks that rang slightly hollow following the massacre in Uvalde.
The president also announced he and his wife, Jill, will soon travel to Texas.
But the anniversary of Floyd’s death, the massacre in the school in Texas and the recent racist massacre in Buffalo are all cruel reminders of Biden’s failure to keep his promises to curtail the violence.
– Healing –
The executive order, which took months to thrash out, provides for a series of measures related to federal law enforcement: it establishes a national database of police misconduct, mandates the use of body cams and largely bans the use of chokeholds and carotid restraints.
But these restrictions will not be imposed on state and local authorities: that would require legislation, which the Democratic president has failed to push through Congress.
Nor has Biden managed to toughen gun laws, from banning assault rifles to mandating mental health and criminal background checks on clients when buying weapons.
As with police reform, the administration has been limited in its efforts on curbing firearms to ruling by decree — for example, increasing restrictions on so-called “ghost guns.”
– Institutional paralysis –
Biden’s inability to curb the violence is partly due to the institutional landscape: despite an image of enormous power, an American president has to count on alignment with the legislative branch and the judiciary to assure his vision.
The Democratic Party has only a very slim majority in Congress and some of its senators are reluctant to blow up the procedural rules that would allow them to override Republican stonewalling on a host of issues.
In addition, Biden faces a Supreme Court which now has a resolutely right-leaning slant thanks to his predecessor Donald Trump, who appointed three conservative justices during his one term in office.
Add to all this the personality of the 79-year-old Democrat, a centrist at heart who would like to govern by consensus, which in today’s America seems impossible.
While the United States has experienced a surge in the number of shootings since the beginning of the year, the president has still not succeeded in appointing a director to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The agency in fact hasn’t had a permanent leader since 2015.
A first nomination attempt by the White House — a candidate known as a fierce supporter of firearms regulation — was withdrawn after a fierce backlash.
Biden has put forward a new candidate, former prosecutor Steve Dettelbach, who will undertake the Senate confirmation hearing process this week, where he is likely to face unanimous Republican opposition.
