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House Democrats split over a resolution backing law enforcement as assaults on officers surged last year.
Just 29 House Democrats on Wednesday voted for a GOP-authored measure paying tribute to the “extraordinary sacrifice” law enforcement officers make and criticizing the defund the police movement for jeopardizing public safety.
Meanwhile, 173 Democrats voted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., against the resolution, while every GOP lawmaker present supported it.
“We want to take that best practice of respecting law enforcement in Iowa to the nation’s capital, and I was thrilled that we got bipartisan support,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, who introduced the measure, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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But the Iowa Republican said he expected his resolution to receive unanimous backing.
“I think it unfortunately puts a real spotlight on a chasm we have between those who support law and order and those who are supporting those who undermine it,” Nunn said.
The vote comes as assaults against law enforcement officers climbed to a 10-year high last year, according to an FBI report released Monday. The number of officers killed saw a slight decrease between 2024 and 2025.
Some Democrats likely objected to language in the resolution that criticized left-wing activists for supporting the defund the police movement and sanctuary city policies for putting officers’ safety at risk.
“Whereas rhetoric and policies from leftist activists and progressive politicians seek to defund or dismantle local police departments undermine public safety and place both officers and the communities they serve at greater risk,” the resolution states, in part.
Nunn’s measure also credited the Trump administration’s aggressive law and order policies for contributing to a historic reduction in violent crime, including the United States experiencing its lowest homicide rate in more than a century last year.
“We are at a 125-year low for murder rates, 10-year low for drug overdoses,” Nunn told Fox News Digital. “These are things that good community policing, that our law enforcement officers are doing every day, have had a really positive impact.”
Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 15, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The majority of Democrats who supported the resolution are facing competitive re-election contests in November.
However, several vulnerable Democrats, including Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., voted against the measure.
A spokesperson for Vasquez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., voted present.
The vote came during National Police Week, which honors the service and sacrifice of fallen law enforcement officers across the country.
Law enforcement officers gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2026, for the 38th annual Candlelight Vigil hosted by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to honor fallen officers, including 109 who died in the line of duty in 2025. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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“To the families of those fallen heroes and those who continue to stand guard in our communities: we have your back,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday at a candlelight vigil to commemorate fallen officers. “We’ll continue to advance policies here that support law enforcement and bring justice to those who seek to harm officers.”
House Republicans are also pitching a slate of anti-crime bills this week, including legislation that would require the attorney general to compile a list of state and local governments that have adopted cashless bail policies. GOP lawmakers have sharply criticized those policies for letting repeat offenders walk free from jail while awaiting trial.
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