09/30/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/30/2025 18:50
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
This morning, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned Gregory Jackson, Jr.-former President Joe Biden's Deputy Director of Gun Violence Prevention-for advocating to defund the police and invest in "safe-spaces" for "two-spirit" individuals.
"Mr. Jackson, Do you renounce the report that you authored as executive director?" Senator Hawley asked. "This is your report, 'A Policymaker's Playbook To Reduce Gun Violence Without Policing Communities' Community Justice Action Fund, copyright 2023, when you were executive director. Now you say you don't know anything about it… just like the Democrats who all of a sudden say, 'Oh, we're all for the police.' They've been advocating defunding them for years," Senator Hawley said.
Gregory Jackson replied, "You've never seen me advocate for that directly. What you've see me advocate for is a comprehensive approach to reducing violence and we've recognized that law enforcement is a part of the ecosystem the entire time."
"This is so typical of what the Democrats do now. After your policies have transparently failed… now, you say you've never heard of defunding the police." Senator Hawley responded, "Let me ask about something else you say… 'Instead of funding the police, here's what we ought to invest in. We need to invest in programs that acknowledge the need for safe-space initiatives led by lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit, trans and gender non-conforming people.' What's two-spirit?"
Gregory Jackson replied, "Well, look I don't know exactly. You guys are pulling some interesting quotes here."
Senator Hawley concluded, "The answer is, you don't have any solutions. You want to invest in gobbledygook and take away money from police officers who actually keep our community safe and when you're called on the record, you deny it. It's all there in black and white… you are leading this committee astray and frankly, sir, your policies are absurd."
Watch the full exchange here.