President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet privately with the family of George Floyd today (May 25) for what marks the one-year anniversary of their loved one’s tragic death. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Biden wanted the meeting to be held in private “in order to have a real conversation and preserve that with the family.”
“He has a genuine relationship with them,” Psaki told reporters on Monday. “And the courage and grace of this family — and especially his daughter Gianna — has really stuck with the President… He’s eager to listen to their perspectives and hear what they have to say during this meeting.”
Floyd’s family members attending the White House meeting will reportedly include Floyd’s daughter, Gianna; her mother, Roxie Washington; Floyd’s sister, Bridgett; Floyd’s brothers Philonise, Rodney and Terrence; Philonise’s wife, Keeta; and Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams.
The meeting arrives as Congress failed to meet Biden’s hopeful deadline to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The president pushed for the police reform legislation to be passed by the anniversary of Floyd’s death. However, it remains stalled in the Senate with negotiations continuing in Congress.
Along with meeting the president and vice president today, Floyd’s family is also set to meet with lead negotiators for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, including Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Tim Scott. They will also meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Karen Bass and other lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol.
On Tuesday morning, Philonise told CNN that the bill would be “one of the best things that you can pass across America. People shouldn’t have to live in fear.”
Reflecting on his brother’s murder, he added, “Things have changed. I think that it’s moving slowly, but it’s making progress.”