Trump on course for clash with House GOP over gun control
Conservatives are demanding that ‘concealed-carry’ language hitch a ride on any bill to strengthen background checks.
By RACHAEL BADE and ELANA SCHOR 02/21/2018 12:34 PM EST
President Donald Trump’s tentative embrace of a narrow background-checks bill is about to hit a towering hurdle: members of his own party.
The White House is signaling support for a bipartisan bill that would enhance reporting of violent criminals to the FBI’s background-check database in order to stop them from buying firearms. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) is trying to round up support for it along with the White House — a formidable duo from a party that typically shuns any talk of stricter gun measures. But House conservatives are unwilling to sign on, unless the measure is coupled with so-called “concealed-carry” legislation backed by the NRA. Combining the two ideas would have the net effect of loosening gun controls.
The House in December passed a bill that yoked the pair of proposals. Before the vote, House GOP leaders promised conservatives that they would not decouple the background-checks bill from the concealed-carry language, according to four leadership and conservative sources familiar with the whip effort.
That sets up the possibility of a clash between House and Senate Republicans. Trump will likely have to decide how hard he wants to push for the standalone background-checks bill, at the risk of antagonizing his pro-gun base and GOP allies in the House.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/21/trump-gun-control-house-republicans-419746
