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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday appointed Gen. William J. Walker to serve as the next House Seargent-at-Arms, making him the first African American to hold the position.

Why it matters: Paul D. Irving, the former Sergeant-at-Arms, resigned one day after the pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.

Details: Walker is the commanding general of the DC National Guard, where he is responsible for the strategic leadership and training of Army and Air Force guardsmen and -women.

  • He has 39 years of decorated military experience.
  • He also served as a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for 30 years.
  • He served as chair of the National Guard Bureau’s Joint Diversity Executive Council responsible for leveraging diversity and inclusion best practices to develop, and provide recommendations to National Guard senior leaders. 

What they're saying: “Throughout his long, dedicated career in public service, Gen. William Walker has proven to be a leader of great integrity and experience who will bring his steady and patriotic leadership to this vital role,” Pelosi said in a statement.

  • “His historic appointment as the first Black American to serve as Sergeant-at-Arms is an important step forward for this institution and our nation," Pelosi said.

Timothy P. Blodgett has been serving as the acting Sergeant-at-Arms since Jan. 11.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.