Posted on the Fraternal Order of Police, Grand Lodge Website – 03/05/2014
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, expressed relief at news that the United States Senate rejected cloture on the motion to proceed to the nomination of Debo P. Adegbile to be the next Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice on a 47-52 vote.
“I am very proud and pleased that a majority of the Senate agreed with the FOP and other law enforcement organizations on this nominee,” Canterbury said after the vote.
“Many of our closest allies and champions—those who know the FOP well and who are close to the law enforcement community—were conflicted between their belief that the President should be allowed to have his choice lead the Civil Rights Division and the nearly unanimous opposition from the law enforcement community,” Canterbury stated. “But I was very pleased and heartened that all of our allies, regardless of their vote today, listened to our earnest arguments and objections.”
“A single vote will not damage relationships that have spanned over many Congresses and Administrations,” Canterbury added. “We look forward to turning the page and working to build support for legislation establishing a National Blue Alert Act and reauthorizing the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act. Senate leaders like Patrick Leahy and Chris Coons have been fighting for these issues for years. Unlike today’s vote, these issues are not political and these bills will save the lives of law enforcement officers.”
Today’s vote was to invoke cloture, or end debate, on the motion to proceed to the consideration of the nomination. Forty-four Senate Republicans (Senator John Cornyn III of Texas missed the vote) were joined by seven Democrats in defeating the motion. The Democrats voting against cloture were: Senators Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA), Christopher A. Coons (DE), Joseph S. Donnelly, Sr. (IN), Mary K. “Heidi” Heitkamp (ND), Joseph Manchin III (WV), Mark L. Pryor (AR), and John E. Walsh (MT). The Majority Leader, Senator Harry M. Reid (D-NV), changed his vote to no as a matter of parliamentary procedure.
The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 330,000 members.
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