Joe Biden announces plans to meet with George Floyd’s family at the White House

President Joe Biden will host George Floyd’s family at the White House next Friday to mark one year since the unarmed black man’s murder at the hands of police. 

The news was confirmed by a White House official on Saturday, although they did not disclose which family members would fly in to Washington, DC for the event. 

Floyd died on May 25 last year after being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the use of a counterfeit bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, during which time Floyd lost consciousness. 

Last month, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He is facing up to 40 years behind bars.  

Joe Biden met with the family of George Floyd in Houston last June: From left: Congressman Cedric Richmond, Rev. Al Sharpton, Joe Biden, Attorney Ben Crump and Roger Floyd, George Floyd’s uncle

Floyd died on May 28 last year after being arrested by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the use of a counterfeit bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, during which time Floyd lost consciousness 

Biden – who has previously met with members of Floyd’s family – praised the jury’s verdict last month. 

He spoke over the phone with some of Floyd’s relatives after the verdict was handed down, saying: ‘You’re an incredible family. I wish I were there – just [to] put my arms around you’. 

He added: ‘We’ve been watching every second of this, and the vice president, all of us. We were all so relieved, not just one verdict but all three.’

‘Nothing is going to make it all better. But at least, God, now there’s some justice.’

Biden met with Floyd’s uncle, Roger, and Floyd’s young daughter, Gianna, during a trip to Houston last June. 

‘They’re an incredible family, his little daughter was there, the one who said ‘daddy’s going to change the world,’ and I think her daddy is going to change the world,’ he stated after the meeting. 

‘I think what happened here is one of the great inflection points in American history, for real, in terms of civil liberties, civil rights and just treating people with dignity.’ 

Biden’s plans to host Floyd’s family come, however, as talks focused on the police reform bill named after Floyd – the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act – have stalled on Capitol Hill. Biden had previously set the anniversary of Floyd’s death as the deadline for the bill’s passage, and left much of the negotiations up to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, but there’s been little movement on the legislation in recent weeks

Psaki said Friday that the White House is ‘in close touch’ with the negotiators and ‘they still feel there’s progress being made,’ but they’ve acknowledged it’s ‘unlikely’ they’ll pass a bill by Biden’s deadline.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds by federal officers and end qualified immunity for law enforcement against civil lawsuits, as well as create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. 

Biden is pictured outside the White House on Saturday morning