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House Democrats split over a resolution backing law enforcement as assaults on officers surged last year.
Just 29 House Democrats on Wednesday voted for a GOP-authored measure paying tribute to the “extraordinary sacrifice” law enforcement officers make and criticizing the defund the police movement for jeopardizing public safety.
Meanwhile, 173 Democrats voted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., against the resolution, while every GOP lawmaker present supported it.
“We want to take that best practice of respecting law enforcement in Iowa to the nation’s capital, and I was thrilled that we got bipartisan support,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, who introduced the measure, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
HANDFUL OF HOUSE DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS IN SANCTUARY CITY CRACKDOWN
But the Iowa Republican said he expected his resolution to receive unanimous backing.
“I think it unfortunately puts a real spotlight on a chasm we have between those who support law and order and those who are supporting those who undermine it,” Nunn said.
The vote comes as assaults against law enforcement officers climbed to a 10-year high last year, according to an FBI report released Monday. The number of officers killed saw a slight decrease between 2024 and 2025.
Some Democrats likely objected to language in the resolution that criticized left-wing activists for supporting the defund the police movement and sanctuary city policies for putting officers’ safety at risk.
“Whereas rhetoric and policies from leftist activists and progressive politicians seek to defund or dismantle local police departments undermine public safety and place both officers and the communities they serve at greater risk,” the resolution states, in…
