Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:52 pm
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Biden is exploring whether he can take additional action on guns.
Video:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said:
It is heart-wrenching, what we are experiencing. This is an epidemic, the gun violence that we are seeing across the country. And we have to do something, we have to continue to make efforts to act, to protect our kids, to protect people going to the grocery store. The President has made this one of his priorities, from the first day that he walked into this administration. Now, he is calling on Congress to act.
And so, he is hopeful. He wants to make sure there is action. We have a White House team that is constantly in communication with Congress on an array of issues, including this one. Because, again, this is a priority. He wants to make sure that he is continuing to voice his concern with what needs to be done next. The President has done everything that he can from the federal government. We are looking at other executive actions that we can possibly do.
It is unclear whether Biden can take additional executive action on guns, and the last thing that the White House wants to do is have Biden sign a sweeping executive order that 80% or 90% of Americans agree with and then have it overturned by the courts.
Biden isn’t going to sit back and wait for Congress to maybe do something if they can manage to get 10 Republican Senators on board for the weakest reform bill imaginable.
The President wants something done, and if Congress doesn’t act, he will try to do more himself.
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
