President Joe Biden plans to issue executive actions on Tuesday to limit the use of private prisons and rollback a program that transfers military equipment to police departments, Reuters reports.
The actions are part of Biden’s plan to rollback controversial policies enacted by former President Donald Trump and push criminal justice reform and racial equity.
The military equipment order will revert Justice Department rules to what they were during the Obama era.
Obama in 2014 signed an order limiting the use of military equipment transfers to local law enforcement in the wake of protests over the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
Obama’s policy limited the transfer of some equipment and required departments to justify why they needed equipment like flash-bangs, helicopters, and riot helmets.
Other orders:
Biden also plans to limit the use of private prisons in the federal justice system and intends to take additional actions targeting the DOJ.
The actions being drafted include reforms targeting sentencing decisions after years of outcry over 90s-era mandatory minimum laws, some of which were championed by Biden.
Biden also plans to take executive action targeting voting and civil rights policies.
Activists have also pushed for Biden to ban the death penalty for federal crimes.
More “equity” reforms:
Biden will also take steps to address racial inequities, including a police commission that will look at reforms.
"America has never lived up to its founding promise of equality for all, but we've never stopped trying,” Biden said Tuesday. “Today, I'll take action to advance racial equity and push us closer to that more perfect union we've always strived to be.”
