Nominee at Senate hearing pledges to continue First Step Act implementation, flags unfilled reentry beds

During a Senate confirmation hearing, a nominee said they would work to continue implementing the First Step Act and would investigate reports that beds for halfway houses and reentry programs funded under the law have not been filled.

The nominee said: "As as you're aware, criminal justice reform has been an important, part of my role on this committee. I I worked for the better part of a decade, with, senator Durbin, chairman Grassley, senator White house, senator Cornyn, senator Booker, and a bunch of others to eventually pass the First Step Act, which president Trump signed into law in December 2018." The nominee added that "The First Step Act, as the name implies, was intended to be the first of multiple steps. Much remains to be done, including with the implementation of the First Step Act. The the credits available under the First Step Act are still being implemented and need more."

A senator on the panel asked whether the nominee, if confirmed, would help continue implementation. The senator asked, "I assume, you'd be willing, if confirmed, to help us continue to implement the First Step Act." The nominee replied, "Yeah. Yes. Yes, senator." The nominee also said, "I just learned it's my understanding. I I don't know for fact, but it's my understanding that a lot of those beds for halfway houses, for reentry, have not been filled under the First Step Act. So if that's true, I wanna look at that right away and and figure out why." The nominee noted support for other reforms, saying, "other reforms like the Safer Supervision Act, of which I'm a cosponsor, can also be helpful on that front."

Why it matters: the First Step Act (signed into law in December 2018) created sentencing and prison reforms and authorized credits and programs intended to support prisoner reentry. Gaps in implementation of credits or in use of reentry beds could affect whether people leaving federal custody receive supervised-release supports intended by the law. The nominee framed the First Step Act as "the first of multiple steps" and said implementation work remains.

What was not decided: the hearing excerpt records the nominee's commitment to investigate reported gaps but does not record a formal directive, a timeline, specific data, or any vote. The nominee described the claim about unfilled reentry beds as "my understanding" and said they did not know it "for fact," indicating the point is a stated concern rather than a confirmed finding. The transcript does not identify which agency data would be reviewed or a deadline for the inquiry.

Context and background: the nominee credited a multi-year effort with members of the Senate, naming Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Cory Booker as collaborators on passage of the First Step Act, which the nominee said President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2018. The nominee also identified themselves as a cosponsor of the Safer Supervision Act and described the federal government as one criminal justice jurisdiction among many, saying states collectively supervise more people than the federal system but that federal policy can influence state practices.

Next steps noted in the hearing excerpt: the nominee said they would "look at that right away and and figure out why" if the report about unfilled reentry beds is accurate. The exchange does not record further items of staff follow-up or a formal request for agency reports in the provided transcript excerpt.