Senate Republicans who are hoping for action on some kind of gun bill in the coming weeks are worried that the issue could go nowhere, just as immigration legislation went nowhere in the Senate in January.
Several ideas have some level of bipartisan support, including boosting background checks, banning bump stocks, and raising the minimum age for buying semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21. But Republicans and Democrats are each looking to add language, and President Trump’s comments have created some uncertainty about what he wants to see in the bill, which has stalled the process so far.
“This is a discussion that we need to have, and I think that’s what you’re seeing,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told the Washington Examiner. “The president’s conversation was, I think, obviously freewheeling, but I think we need to see him bring about more clarification there.”
“If the question is – is the conversation going to go the way of immigration, which means no results … I hope that doesn’t happen, but it’s a concern,” Capito said.
Trump created confusion last week when he indicated he could support a bill containing many proposals from Democratic lawmakers. However, he started to walk back many of those ideas Friday. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, indicated that Trump is walking away from his call to raise the age due to a lack of support.
Trump held a similar meeting at the White House during the heat of the immigration debate back in January where he called for unity on an issue where most agree something should be done to help the Dreamers. However, that led to nothing passing on Capitol Hill and has made both Republicans and Democrats wary in the heat of the gun debate.
“That’s always a risk the way things are today in Washington,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “I’m very hopeful that’s not what’s going to happen.”
“We’re talking about life or death. We’re talking about students,” Rubio said. “We’re talking about real people who have lost family members and are suffering and other students who were injured. I’m not saying immigration is not important, but this is a life or death issue, and it could happen anywhere, and it isn’t the first time it’s happened. Hopefully, that part of it will make it different.”
Another problem with the gun bill is the lack of a deadline, which could allow Congress to consider a bill for weeks or even months without any pressure to act.
Even with a deadline, it’s not clear Congress will act. Lawmakers faced a March 5 deadline for six months, and still failed to get anywhere. When the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program by that date, the pressure faded, and the Senate is on track to watch that deadline come and go next week without any action.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, says that while deadlines usually force results on Capitol Hill, the gun issue is one where something needs to happen without one.
“I think the deadline is going to be the next mass shooting,” Cornyn said. “It’s only a matter of time.”
