- Chicago superintendent of police David O'Neal Brown and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also will be among the participants.
The big picture: Democrats are concerned that violence and lawlessness could affect Biden's presidency and their political fortunes in the midterm elections.
- Homicides jumped 30% in some large cities last year and this summer is already off to a deadly start, with Chicago witnessing more than 100 shootings over the July 4th weekend.
The intrigue: Adams has railed against fellow Democrats for focusing on national gun control legislation instead of directly addressing crime in blighted neighborhoods, calling those priorities “misplaced.”
- He told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday, "It's almost insulting what we have witnessed over the last few years." Adams points to a new path for Democrats to navigate the police issue, Axios has reported.
Details: The memo's subject line leaves little mystery about how the White House is seeking to position itself: “How Local and State Government Can — and Should — Use the President’s Gun Crime Reduction Strategy and Historic Rescue Plan Funding to Improve Public Safety.”
- It makes clear that COVID funds may be used for law enforcement and commends several cities that are doing so.
- It was written by Domestic Policy Council director Susan Rice; Gene Sperling, who's monitoring the $1.9 trillion in COVID relief spending; and Julie Rodriguez, the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
- Attorney General Merrick Garland will join Biden for the Monday meeting. The invitation to Adams was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Flashback: In June, when Biden first explained that states and localities could use some of the $350 billion in local COVID money for law enforcement, he also touted traditional Democratic efforts on gun control and announced a new plan to crack down on gun dealers.
The bottom line: Monday’s event is another attempt by the White House to show that it is aware of a national crime problem and that Biden is considering all his policy options to address it.
- But inviting Adams to White House could expose an emerging Democratic divide.
Read the memo.
