House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to President Trump Thursday urging him to use his authority to call the Senate into session to vote on a bill expanding background checks for gun purchases.
The move would overrule Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has so far ignored the demands of Democrats to convene the Senate.
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“Today, as Speaker of the House, I am writing in good faith to request that you call the United States Senate back into session immediately under your powers in Article II Section 3 of the Constitution to consider House-passed bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation,” Pelosi wrote.
Pelosi cited three recent mass shootings in Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio and Trump’s own words following the two most recent mass attacks, in which he said, “I think background checks are important. I don’t want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable or people with rage or hate, sick people. I’m all in favor of it.
The Democratic-majority House in February passed two background check measures that earned only a handful of GOP votes.
One measure would expand background checks to all firearm sales, including gun show and private gun transactions.
A second measure would provide more time for background checks for some gun purchases.
McConnell has ignored the two House bills as well, along with recent demands by Democrats to call back the Senate, which, like the House, is adjourned until Sept. 9.
McConnell this week called on three Senate committees to develop bipartisan measures that would address gun violence. He has not signaled support for any particular bill.
Pelosi is urging Trump to force a vote on the background check measures, regardless of McConnell.
“Thank you for your attention to my call to honor the Constitution’s Preamble which states America’s purpose, and its provision that enables the President to bring the Senate back into session,” she wrote to Trump.
“This extraordinary moment in our history requires all of us to take extraordinary action to save lives.”
Pelosi sent the letter after McConnell signaled in a WHAS interview in Louisville that he did not plan to reconvene the Senate to take up the House bill.
“I want to make a law, not just see this kind of political sparring going on endlessly which never produces a result,” McConnell told host Terry Meiners.
“And the way you make a law right now is that it has to pass the House, it has to get 60 votes in the Senate, and has to be signed by President Trump.”
