Senate Dems set for meeting on gun violence
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On the heels of two mass shootings in Texas within just over a week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for a special Democratic caucus meeting on gun violence. While Democratic unity would be important for further gun policy reform, the party would also need some Republicans on board.
“The big question for Schumer is whether Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the leading Republican on gun-violence issues, will agree to negotiate a new gun-safety bill with Democrats,” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton wrote.
President Biden continues to call for an assault weapons ban, something most Republicans, including Cornyn, have opposed. High-powered rifles were used in both Saturday’s shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, and an April 28 shooting in Cleveland, Texas.
While Congress passed and Biden signed the most significant gun legislation in decades last year, it didn’t include an assault weapons ban.
Meanwhile, the Texas House Community Safety Select Committee advanced a bill to raise the minimum age for buying a semiautomatic rifle in the state from 18 to 21. The measure faces tough odds in the majority-Republican legislature. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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The Department of Justice is seeking a 25-year sentence for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who last year was found guilty of seditious conspiracy related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Former President Trump endorsed Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) for governor. Several other Republicans are running in the all-party primary in October.
President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are scheduled for a call Tuesday to discuss migration, fentanyl trafficking and economic cooperation.
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Government employees union files lawsuit on debt limit law
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The National Association of Government Employees filed a lawsuit saying a law related to the debt limit is unconstitutional because it gives President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spending power that belongs to Congress.
According to the lawsuit, the debt limit law “puts the President in a quandary to exercise discretion to continue borrowing to pay for the programs which Congress has heretofore duly authorized and for which Congress has appropriated funds or to stop borrowing and to determine which of these programs the President, and not the Congress, will suspend, curtail, or cancel altogether.”
The president will meet with congressional leaders Tuesday, a meeting set up shortly after Yellen said the country could default on its debt as soon as June 1. |
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Federal, state moves ahead of Title 42 end
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With Title 42 set to end Thursday, there’s been movement on the state and federal level to confront an expected surge of migrants at the southern border. The White House said Monday it would veto a related bill that House Republicans introduced if it landed on Biden’s desk (an unlikely scenario, given the Democratic Senate majority).
From The Hill’s Brett Samuels: “The statement argued the House bill, introduced last week as the Secure the Border Act, would cut off access to humanitarian protections, make processing less efficient and reduce funding for programs that help state and local governments that deal with incoming migrants.” Learn more about the Biden administration’s plans here. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) told Fox News the state will deploy a tactical border force trained “to identify areas illegal immigrants are trying to cross the border and to fill that gap and to repel them.”
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Closing arguments in E. Jean Carroll case
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Both sides gave their closing arguments in writer E. Jean Carroll‘s sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against former President Trump on Monday.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, called Trump “a witness against himself” and played the 2005 “Access Hollywood” video of Trump saying celebrities can grab women by the genitals without their consent.
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina called Carroll’s allegation of rape an “affront to justice” and said, “What they want is for you to hate him enough to ignore the facts.” Trump was not present for the proceedings. |
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Senate Republicans see Trump as increasingly likely GOP nominee
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Several Senate Republicans see Trump as the increasingly likely GOP presidential nominee, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, as Trump continues to pick up endorsements from senators including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.). |
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Biden’s stability strategy
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Some keywords of Biden’s reelection campaign: “stability” and “presidential.” The Hill’s Amie Parnes looks at Biden’s campaign outreach efforts and strategy in the days following his reelection announcement. |
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Americans’ retirement savings problem
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Fewer than half of working-age Americans, and more than two-fifths of baby boomers, don’t have retirement savings. The Hill’s Daniel de Visé breaks down data on retirement accounts. |
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“Will Kamala Harris be an asset or a liability for Democrats in 2024?” — Douglas E. Schoen, a political consultant who served as an advisor to President Clinton and to Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign. (Read here) “Fear of losing jobs halts bone marrow donations — Congress can help” — Amy Ronneberg, chief executive officer of National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match. (Read here) |
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547 days until the presidential election. |
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President Biden meets with Senate and House leaders to discuss the debt limit. 4 p.m.: The House Rules Committee meets to consider the Secure the Border Act of 2023 and the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act of 2023. |
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