House Democrats are divided on their next steps in the wake of two deadly mass shootings over the weekend, with some lawmakers demanding the House immediately come back from recess and pass stricter gun control bills, including an assault weapons ban.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back on the idea during a private caucus call Monday, telling Democrats that they should stay focused on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his blanket refusal to consider two gun control bills that passed the House earlier this year.
"The president and Mitch McConnell have to feel the public sentiment on this. We have a golden opportunity to save lives," Pelosi said on the call, according to an aide.
"The grim reaper said he is not going to bring them up," she added, using McConnell's nickname. "This is where we have to go."
Other Democrats, noting McConnell is unlikely to bring Democratic-authored legislation to the Senate floor, pushed for more immediate action in the House. Some lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), said his panel should return to Capitol Hill and vote on additional gun-related bills, including an assault weapons ban, according to several sources on the call.
The debate over how the Democratic-controlled House should respond comes after a pair of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend left at least 31 people dead and dozens more wounded.
The alleged shooter in Texas appeared to release a manifesto saying he wanted to target Hispanics and stop immigrants from invading — using language similar to that employed by President Donald Trump as recently as May. The manifesto also referenced the New Zealand mosque shooting that left 51 people dead. Less than 24 hours before the shooting, two dozen House Democrats were in El Paso touring migrant facilities at the border.
In response to the deadly shootings, Trump initially floated the idea of strengthening background checks — and linking the bill to an immigration overhaul — in a tweet Monday morning before backing off the suggestion in a speech later in the day.
In February, the House passed the most sweeping gun control legislation in a decade, including a bill requiring background checks for nearly all gun purchases.
"The bill that is over in the Senate — the bill the House passed — is the bill that all the experts tell us will do the most good the quickest," Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the House's Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said in an interview. "Mitch McConnell needs to do his job."
The House also passed a bill that would close the so-called Charleston loophole to prevent individuals from buying guns before their background check is completed. That bill, authored by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), came after the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015 in which nine African Americans were murdered by a white supremacist.
"In February, the brand new Democratic majority passed a bipartisan gun violence prevention act and Mr. Clyburn's bill as well. They have been sitting over there," Pelosi said on Monday.
Clyburn, who spoke after Nadler on the call, agreed with Pelosi that returning to Washington would take pressure off McConnell to act. But other lawmakers pushed for the full House to return early from its six-week break — or at least members of the Judiciary panel, who could vote on additional gun control measures. The House Homeland Security Committee also plans to hold multiple field hearings on white supremacy around the country this month, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said during the call.
Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) said mass shootings should be treated as a "national emergency" and that Democrats' first focus is on "forcing" McConnell to call back the Senate and vote on the House-passed gun control measures.
"We need to take immediate action to address domestic terrorism and take further steps on gun violence prevention from every angle," said Hill, a freshman member of leadership. "I believe the House should come back from recess as well to prepare additional legislation that has overwhelming public support to send to the Senate."
Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), another freshman, also endorsed the idea of the House ending its recess early, but said the chamber should also take action to address domestic terrorism, according to multiple sources on the call. Hill and Malinowksi represent swing districts.
Gun control advocates have long pushed the House to vote on more aggressive legislation — like an assault weapons ban or a bill to limit high-capacity magazines — though none would stand a chance in the GOP-controlled Senate.
But other Democrats argue that they've already passed substantial legislation to tackle gun violence and warn that returning to Capitol Hill this summer could cloud Democrats' message that they've already taken action.
"We are having that discussion. There's a chance that we come back and take up more and do more, and I'm not necessarily opposed to that," said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a vice chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. "But there's also value to us being back in our communities, meeting with families, meeting with kids, talking about this issue. ... There's value to that too."
Crow — whose district includes Aurora, Colo., where 12 people were gunned down in a movie theater in 2012 — said the focus should be on the Senate's refusal to act.
"If Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate aren't willing to do something about this public health crisis, there will be a reckoning sooner rather than later," Crow said.
On the Senate side, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday said he'll propose bipartisan legislation encouraging states to adopt "red flag" laws that temporarily restrict people who pose an imminent threat from accessing firearms. Trump on Monday also urged for "red flag" laws. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) renewed their push for legislation to strengthen background checks — an idea they said they each discussed separately with Trump on Monday — though it's unlikely McConnell would allow a vote on their proposal.
Pelosi spent the weekend talking to the families of gun violence victims and they too want to keep the pressure on McConnell, she told House Democrats.
Pelosi said she spoke to Manuel Oliver, whose son died in the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., last year. Oliver and his wife were in El Paso honoring their son when the shooting broke out this weekend.
"He and others like him are saying, 'Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell. Help us make Mitch McConnell bring up this bill,'" Pelosi said.
Dozens of Democrats have pointedly criticized McConnell in their response to the shootings — calling him out on Twitter, cable news and statements for failing to take up the House background check bills.
McConnell, who is recovering from an injury at his home in Kentucky this week, condemned the two weekend shootings on Twitter but did not offer a legislative response.
Trump initially suggested in a tweet on Monday that Congress should pass a legislative package to deal with both gun control and immigration — an idea that confounded lawmakers of both parties who realize it would be a politically impossible task.
"That was absolutely ridiculous — we're not talking about tying bills to one another. We need to take action that will make our communities safer in regard to hatred and gun violence," Thompson said.
Later on Monday, Trump appeared to clarify his stance and instead focused on mental health laws and more modest red flag laws.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman said she plans to push the House to take up her own gun regulation bills, such as legislation to limit online purchases of ammunition. But the New Jersey Democrat was guardedly optimistic about Trump's vow to strengthen resources for the FBI to tackle domestic terrorism — which he publicly denounced as white supremacy — and to look at stronger background checks.
"Perhaps this is a reckoning for him," Watson Coleman said. "Perhaps this is the straw that broke the camel's back."
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