After being passed in the Senate on Tuesday night, a broad criminal justice reform package is expected to pass the House on Thursday before it heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law. He brought his son-in-law to town.”

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made criminal justice reform a priority, having seen the federal prison system firsthand after his father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, spent 14 months behind bars for tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions. The bipartisan measure, which passed in the Senate earlier this week with an unheard-of 87-to-12 vote, would roll back sentences for federal prisoners, including mandatory life terms for third-time offenders, as well as mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug users and those convicted of firearm crimes. A House vote is expected Thursday, and President Donald Trump tweeted that he was looking forward to signing the legislation, which he said would “keep our communities safer, and provide hope and a second chance, to those who earn it. For decades, we’ve been hearing this Willie Horton narrative: “Don’t let people out, or they’re going to end up reoffending, and there’s going to be victims, and you’ll never be elected again.” Ms. Alice and this FIRST STEP Act are the antidote to the Willie Horton narrative. First Step, which earned support from Kamala Harris and Ted Cruz, expands rehabilitative opportunities for inmates

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Donald Trump on Friday signed into law the First Step Act, a prison and sentencing reform bill with strong bipartisan support, having passed the Senate earlier this week and in the House yesterday. It used to be that odd-numbered years offered the best chance for significant legislation, while campaigns dominated election years; now the time for ambition may be the few weeks immediately after elections, when voters are paying the least attention and politicians have the longest amount of time possible to let unpopular votes fade into the past.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs the First Step Act, a bipartisan prison and sentencing reform bill, into law.