Trump talks background checks. McConnell only has to bring the Senate back to make that happen

Joan McCarter

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday August 07, 2019 · 7:09 AM PDT

2019/08/07 · 07:09

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: US President Donald Trump (L) talks to the press as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) looks on after the Republican luncheon at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has an easy out whenever he's under so much pressure to move legislation that he has to publicly address the issue: He says can't do anything without Donald Trump's approval. He's using it again when it comes to the two background check gun safety bills that have been gathering dust on his desk since the House passed them back in February.

Never mind that the Congress is a coequal branch of government under the Constitution. Never mind that the Congress is the representative of the people's will in our system of government and that roughly 90% of people tell pollsters they want more stringent background checks, including very large majorities of Republicans.

McConnell is off the hook for doing anything real on stopping gun violence, like renewing the ban on assault weapons. Trump says, "I can tell you there is no political appetite for that at this moment." So that's not happening. But there’s a crack in his opposition to background checks.

On his way to visit the grieving cities of Dayton and El Paso, because he is forced to go because that's what a president is supposed to do, Trump did say, "I think we're going to come up with something, something really good, beyond what's done so far" about background checks and red flag laws, adding, "I think both Republican and Democrats are getting close to a bill on doing something with background checks."

They already did it in the House. Bipartisan bills (bipartisan is something else McConnell insists on) have already passed in the House. This could happen immediately, this week, and it would seem that Trump (for now) is okay by that. The bills are just ready and waiting for McConnell. All he has to do is bring the Senate back in for a day or two, pass the bills, and then everyone can go back to enjoying August recess knowing that they've actually done something.

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