House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) depart following a border security briefing with U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional leadership at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 2, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer called out Trump and Mitch McConnell for refusing to support a bill to expand background checks for gun purchases.
Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
In February, the new Democratic House Majority promptly did its duty and passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which is supported by more than 90 percent of the American people and proven to save lives.
However, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has called himself the ‘grim reaper’ and refuses to act on this bipartisan legislation. It is incumbent upon the Senate to come back into session to pass this legislation immediately.
It took less than three hours for the president to back off his call for stronger background check legislation. When he can’t talk about guns when he talks about gun violence, it shows the president remains prisoner to the gun lobby and the NRA.
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The public must weigh in and demand passage of this legislation for the safety of our children.
Trump tweeted about supporting expanded background checks early on Monday morning, but by the time that he issued his statement a little after 10 AM ET, that support had vanished. Pelosi and Schumer are correct. Trump and McConnell are refusing to support legislation that already passed the House.
The president doesn’t need to delay action. The House has already passed legislation. Mitch McConnell is blocking it from coming to the floor for a vote in the Senate. Blaming video games, mental illness, and the Internet is straight out of the NRA playbook to survive a post-mass shooting news cycle.
The American people are demanding action. If Trump and McConnell won’t act, voters will replace them with leaders who will.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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