The Oval Office meeting between Biden and members of the Congressional Black Caucus took place a day after the funeral of Nichols, a Black man who died in Memphis on Jan 10, three days after being brutally beaten by police during a traffic stop.

“My hope is, this dark memory spurs some action that we’ve all been fighting for,” Biden said.

Biden’s Democrats tried to pass a wide-ranging set of reforms, known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act but ran into Republican opposition in the Senate.

Named for Floyd, another Black man who died after a police arrest in 2020, it would have banned dangerous chokeholds during arrests, among other measures, and would weaken the legal protections that shield police from civil lawsuits.

“You’ve just got to keep at it,” Biden said, underlining that he had forced some “significant changes” by presidential order – although his powers are extremely limited in changing rules for police. One of his orders banned chokeholds by federal agents.

The Congressional Black Caucus chair, representative Steven Horsford, said “the death of Tyre Nichols is yet another example of why we do need action”.

Biden is under pressure from Black political leaders to make the painful issue an important part of his State of the Union speech next Tuesday, delivered before a joint session of Congress and a huge TV audience.