The incoming administration is on the defensive after leaked audio revealed that President-elect Joe Biden recently warned civil rights leaders against immediate police reform out of fear it would hurt Democrats’ chances at winning the upcoming Senate runoff elections in Georgia. Johnson told Biden that Georgia very much remembers Vilsack’s decision to fire her. Civil rights leaders warned Biden that picking Vilsack could backfire in Georgia, where Shirley Sherrod is still a hero. The Biden transition did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s questions about how his comments on police brutality and his nomination of Vilsack play with the two Democratic Senate candidates’ platforms. During his campaign, the president-elect repeatedly expressed support for police reform but said he would not take away police funding.

Source: Huffington Post December 10, 2020 23:25 UTC