Donald Trump boosted hopes of federal criminal justice reform on Wednesday by announcing his support for the First Step Act, which seems increasingly likely to get a floor vote in the Senate before the end of the year. 
 
 California rethinks life sentences for thousands of non-violent third-strike offenders Read more 
 
 “We’re all better off when former inmates can re-enter society as law-abiding, productive citizens,” Trump said at the White House. “Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption.” 
 
 The act would expand rehabilitative opportunities for people in prison; ban some of the most startling correctional practices, such as the shackling of pregnant women; and reduce mandatory minimum sentences for a number of drug-related crimes. 
 
 Sign up for the new US morning briefing 
 
 The rare bipartisan effort was bolstered by a letter to senators from public figures including Van Jones, Mark Cuban, Patricia Arquette, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. A copy obtained by the Guardian called on Congress to “recognize the humanity” of inmates and declared that “186,000 people in federal prison and their family members” were counting on elected representatives to act. 
 
 “The time is now,” the letter said. 
 
 The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, must now decide whether to bring the bill up for a vote. He has promised to do so if 60 votes for it can be expected – the amount needed to clear a filibuster. He also said, however, that he will have to see how the legislation “stacks up” with other priorities in the limited time before recess. 
 
 As with previous iterations of the bill – which has been in the works since 2015 – negotiations have concerned two components: prison reform and sentencing reform. 
 
 Prison reform, which focuses on improving conditions in federal prisons and programs to facilitate re-entry into society, enjoys broad bipartisan support. Sentencing reform, which would remove some harsh sentencing minimums imposed in the 1990s, is favored by Democrats but has fractured Republicans. 
 
 First Step passed the House in May with only prison reform included, earning support from virtually all Republicans and more than two-thirds of Democrats. Generally speaking, those Democrats who held out did so on the principle that criminal justice reform legislation must include sentencing reform. 
 
 A number of prominent senators, including the Republican judiciary committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, and progressive Democrats, blasted the bill for not including sentencing reform. But the bill had its all-important supporter: Trump. Early in his administration, Trump tasked his top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner with orchestrating the administration’s work on the issue. At a bipartisan forum on criminal justice reform at the White House, the president promised he would sign the First Step Act. 
 
 In the six months after the passage of the House bill, Senate lawmakers led by Grassley set about drafting their own version that could include sentencing reform without alienating Trump or Republican supporters. 
 
 That effort appears to have been successful. Late last week the bill earned the support of the national Fraternal Order of Police, which may have helped convince otherwise wavering Republicans. 
 
 “We could not have gotten here without the support and feedback of law enforcement,” Trump said on Wednesday. 
 
 While conservatives have largely joined progressives in seeking criminal justice reform – it is now a significant plank in the platform promoted by mega-donors Charles and David Koch – many on the right nonetheless remained fearful of being seen as anti-law enforcement. 
 
 Jessica Jackson-Sloan, national director for reform advocacy group Cut50, said the process of earning diverse endorsements was delicate and involved substantial concessions on all sides. 
 
 “They say bipartisanship is dead and they say working with unlikely allies is dead,” she said. “But I think this bill really shows that when you roll up your sleeves, you negotiate, and you both compromise, this is what can happen.” 
 
 The conservative case for criminal justice reform Read more 
 
 The proposed sentencing reform would get rid of so-called “three strikes” mandatory life sentences for defendants facing a third drug conviction, except for those with a prior “serious violent felony”, and eliminate “stacking” regulations that make it illegal to posses a firearm while committing a crime, even if the firearm is not used. It would also effectively reduce a slew of federal mandatory minimum sentences by allowing judges to circumvent them for non-violent offenders when they see fit. 
 
 The bill would also retroactively extend the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act, a move that could affect thousands of drug offenders serving disproportionately long sentences for crack cocaine versus the powder variant. 
 
 Some advocates say the prison reform could release 4,000 people currently serving long sentences, give elderly and terminally ill inmates a path home and invest tens of millions in re-entry programming. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a rewrite of criminal justice sentencing laws (all times local): 
 
 4:45 p.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says he's "thrilled" to support a bipartisan bill to reform federal sentencing guidelines. 
 
 The legislation is the first major rewrite of the nation's criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation. Lawmakers reached agreement this week on legislation that would boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses. 
 
 Trump says he's "thrilled to announce my support for this bipartisan bill." 
 
 Speaking in the Roosevelt Room to announcing his backing for the bill, he joked: "Did I hear the word bipartisan? Did I hear that word? That's a nice word." 
 
 It is unclear whether the Senate will move to take up the bill during the lame-duck session. 
 
 __ 
 
 1:40 p.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump is planning to support the first major rewrite of the nation's criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation. 
 
 That's according to a senior White House official familiar with the president's plans who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 
 
 Lawmakers reached agreement this week on legislation that would boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses. 
 
 The official said Trump was briefed on the deal and plans to support it publicly during an event at the White House Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 Criminal justice reform has been a priority of Trump's son-in-law, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. 
 
 Trump is expected to push for swift passage of the legislation, potentially during the lame-duck session of Congress. ||||| FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finishes speaking to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. McConnell’s blockade of a popular criminal justice... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finishes speaking to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. McConnell’s blockade of a popular criminal justice reform package has angered top senators. And it’s created an unusual rift with a longtime Republican... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finishes speaking to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. McConnell’s blockade of a popular criminal justice reform package has angered top senators. And it’s created an unusual rift with a longtime Republican... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finishes speaking to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. McConnell’s blockade of a popular criminal justice... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from President Donald Trump and many of his Republican colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he will bring legislation to the floor to overhaul the nation's sentencing laws. 
 
 McConnell's decision comes after more than three years of overtures from a large, bipartisan group of senators who support the criminal justice bill, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump announced his support for the legislation last month, but McConnell treaded cautiously and said the bill was among a number of competing priorities for the lame-duck session. 
 
 Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican, said Trump's push for the legislation had been "critical to the outcome here." 
 
 "Senator McConnell was always concerned about the small window of time that we have to do all these things we need to do, but the president was insistent that this be included," he said. 
 
 If the legislation passes, it could be a rare bipartisan policy achievement for this Congress and the largest sentencing overhaul in decades. 
 
 Most Democrats support the bill, which would revise 1980s and '90s-era "tough on crime" laws to boost rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and give judges more discretion when sentencing nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug offenses. Supporters say the changes would make the nation's criminal justice system fairer, reduce overcrowding in federal prisons and save taxpayer dollars. 
 
 The legislation has been a priority for Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has worked behind the scenes with supportive Republican senators over the last two years and pushed Trump to support it. It was also a top issue for former President Barack Obama, who had hoped to see the bill become law before he left office. 
 
 Supporters have long said that the bill would pass if McConnell would just put it on the floor. But McConnell appeared to have concerns that it would divide his caucus. One vocal GOP opponent, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, has criticized the bill as allowing for early release of serious and repeat felons. 
 
 McConnell said he was moving the bill as soon as this week "at the request of the president" and following improvements to the legislation. A revised bill makes some changes requested by Senate Republicans and law enforcement groups who had concerns it would be too soft on some offenders. 
 
 Cornyn announced Tuesday morning that he had requested changes to the bill to bring on more Republicans. He said one of the changes was to ensure that fewer firearms offenders got reduced sentences. 
 
 "My goal all along has been trying to grow the vote and gain support for the law enforcement community, and I think the bill has improved as a result, and I think the prospects for passage are much better," he said. 
 
 Cornyn said similar sentencing reforms on the state level in Texas show that criminal justice overhaul can be successful. 
 
 "Texas is proof positive that you can close the revolving door of incarceration, reduce crime, and save taxpayer dollars at the same time," Cornyn said. 
 
 It's unclear how long it will take to move the bill. McConnell said senators should be prepared to stay in session the week following Christmas if necessary to complete their work. 
 
 Grassley has grown frustrated in recent days as he has questioned why McConnell wouldn't move the bill in the final days of this Congress. And Trump has tweeted at McConnell to ask him to move. 
 
 "Hopefully Mitch McConnell will ask for a VOTE on Criminal Justice Reform," Trump tweeted last week. "It is extremely popular and has strong bipartisan support. It will also help a lot of people, save taxpayer dollars, and keep our communities safe. Go for it Mitch!" 
 
 Minutes later Grassley tweeted that he and the president had spoken about "the growing support" for the legislation. 
 
 "Pres Trump told me he wants it done THIS CONGRESS," Grassley tweeted. 
 
 Supporters who have been pushing the bill for years — including many law enforcement organizations, liberal advocacy groups and major GOP donors — were elated. 
 
 "It's an incredibly groundbreaking moment and it's really emotional for the broad coalition who has worked so hard on this legislation for so many years," said Holly Harris, executive director of the advocacy group Justice Action Network. "I never doubted the leader would be on the right side of history on this bill."
– "Did I hear the word bipartisan?" President Trump asked Wednesday as he announced his support for a major reform of prison and sentencing laws. The First Step Act, which the AP calls the "first major rewrite of the nation's criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation," was created by a bipartisan group of senators and will remove some of the harsher minimum sentencing laws passed in the 1990s. "We're all better off when former inmates can re-enter society as law-abiding, productive citizens," Trump said. "Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption." The bill, which builds on one the House passed in May, includes a boost to rehabilitation efforts for federal prisoners and bans practices including the shackling of pregnant women, the Guardian reports. It's not clear whether it will go to a vote during the lame-duck session of Congress, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it will go to the floor if 60 votes can be guaranteed—depending on how it "stacks up" with other priorities. The bill is opposed by some conservatives, though its broad range of support includes both the ACLU and the Koch brothers, the New York Times reports. It earned the support of the national Fraternal Order of Police last week. (Last year, Jeff Sessions brought back tougher drug sentences.)