The Memo: Some Democrats worry rising crime will cost them | TheHill

President BidenJoe BidenMilitary must better understand sexual assaults to combat them The Hill's Equilibrium — Presented by NextEra Energy — Tasmanian devil wipes out penguin population On The Money: Democrats make full-court press on expanded child tax credit | White House confident Congress will raise debt ceiling MORE will address rising crime rates at the White House on Wednesday — an acknowledgement that the issue has become too hot to ignore for his party ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiTaliban seize key Afghan district The Hill's Equilibrium — Presented by NextEra Energy — Tasmanian devil wipes out penguin population Democrats go down to the wire with Manchin MORE told reporters at Monday’s media briefing that there had been “a rise in crime over the last five years, but really the last 18 months.”Psaki emphasized that the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed at Biden’s behest in March included funds intended “to ensure that there are police that are kept on the beat.” The message was clear: Biden wants to fund the police, not defund them.The president is also expected to emphasize the connection between lax gun laws and violence on Wednesday — though this does not readily explain why murder rates have risen so sharply recently.For Democrats who believe “defund the police” is a politically disastrous slogan, the New York mayoral race underlines the imperative not to drift too far left.As voters go to the polls in party primaries Tuesday, crime has become a top issue.