Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., admits House and Senate lawmakers have proven in recent years that they are unable to reach bipartisan solutions on major policy issues.
“Senator, when you talk about immigration, mass violence, opioids — has Congress lost its ability to solve big problems?” CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes asked the retiring Arizona senator in an interview partially released Friday morning.
“You know it would be hard to argue that we haven’t. We’ve had a hard time coming together,” Flake responded.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., also in the interview of retiring lawmakers, said Republicans should break precedent and be the party to lead on gun control reforms.
“It’s tearing the country apart and I think it’s a real opportunity for the Republican Party to step up and be leaders in this debate. Are we just going to continue this throughout the school year? It is impossible to deal with this kind of grief on a daily basis,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., added he is “incredibly frustrated” Congress has not moved on legislation to prevent bump stocks.
“I think the thought here is that ATF is going to take those actions on their own. But from my standpoint as a cosponsor of legislation to move something off the House floor, I think we ought to mandate it,” he said.
The full interview will air Sunday morning on CBS.
