McConnell, GOP unlikely to move swiftly on gun violence measures

By Lisa Mascaro and Matthew Daly The Associated Press

5 years ago

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., addresses the audience gathered Saturday, Aug. 3 ... — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., addresses the audience gathered Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, at the Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, speaks with supporters before the start of the Graves County Republican Breakfast in Mayfield, Ky., Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is resisting pressure to bring senators back from recess to address gun violence.

Instead, the Republican leader is taking a more measured approach to consider the options. But that could very likely result in no legislation being passed, despite calls to “do something” in the aftermath of the nation’s back-to-back mass shootings.

President Donald Trump is privately calling senators and publicly pushing for an expansion of background checks on firearms purchases. But he is offering no details, and those ideas have little Republican support. In fact, the White House threatened to veto a House-passed background checks bill earlier this year.

After the shootings in Ohio and Texas that left 31 people dead, McConnell’s slow-walk is coming under criticism from those who want Congress to act.