House Speaker Paul Ryan decided he had to do something in answer to last month's dramatic Democratic sit-in for gun safety legislation led by Georgia Rep. John Lewis. So he reached for the NRA-approved "terror gap" bill championed by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn that basically creates a three-day waiting period for potential terrorists to get a gun. That three days is way too much for the Freedom Caucus, Ryan's cabal of problem children.
Now they're planning to announce their group-wide opposition during the weekly House Republican conference meeting because the package's new gun restrictions—aimed at barring suspected terrorists from buying guns—don't go far enough to protect gun owner's rights. They also believe that Homeland Security Department provisions in the measure aren't strong enough to defeat terrorism and beef up national security.
Ryan is already struggling to defuse a tense situation with Democrats on gun legislation. The left wants votes on their own gun control proposals and are threatening to stage another "sit in" if they don't get one.
But opposition from the Freedom Caucus underscores that Ryan still has some work to do on his own party.
You think? The vote was originally scheduled to happen on Wednesday, with Ryan undoubtedly hoping to just vote on something gun-related and get it over with. Once again, he underestimated his colleagues. Or overestimated his own leadership. Instead of voting today, Ryan will be meeting with his caucus, trying to get some semblance of agreement among them. Good luck.