The Archive

THE TOP

Happy Wednesday morning.

We have some news on gun control talks.

→

A bipartisan group of senators attempting to reach a gun control deal will speak again today, sources familiar with the discussions told us. One group is led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and includes Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

These talks have largely focused on school safety, “red flag” laws and improvements to the nation’s mental health apparatuses. The red-flag proposal is essentially a program which would provide federal grant money to incentivize states to set up their own systems to temporarily remove guns form those who are a threat to themselves or others.

Sources involved in the negotiations say interest in reaching a compromise remains genuine on both sides, although there are serious obstacles to do so.

→	Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is also holding parallel discussions with Murphy, a replay of what they did last summer during unsuccessful talks on expanding background checks on gun sales. Murphy is the central figure in all of these talks.

Cornyn, Murphy, Sinema and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) held a Zoom discussion on Tuesday as well. Tillis has expressed openness to red flag laws. Aides to these four senators are going to craft some proposals for them to review in the coming days.

“Senators Murphy, Sinema, Tillis, and I had a very constructive conversation about the best response to the horrific events in Uvalde last week,” Cornyn said in a statement. “We’ve asked our staff to continue to work together to address some of the details that we hope to be able to discuss at some point soon.”

This group of four is complementary to the larger bipartisan talks. For example, the smaller group may flesh out some of the broad parameters of an agreement, and the larger group may come up with the language. Blumenthal and Graham have taken the lead on the red flag language.

We want to dig into Cornyn’s involvement here. The horrific Uvalde shooting took place in Cornyn’s home state, which along with his previous interactions with Murphy and his expertise on gun issues, thrust him into the center of these discussions.

Cornyn, though, has internal political dynamics he’ll have balance with the fallout back home from the Uvalde massacre.

Cornyn is a part of a Senate GOP group we’ve dubbed the “Three Johns”– Cornyn, Sen Minority Whip John Thune and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Republican Conference chair. Each has his eye on being the top Senate Republican when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell eventually retires. Which isn’t going to be for awhile.

Thune and Barrasso have been non-committal on any potential gun-control deal, and Cornyn won’t want to get to their left. Barrasso has taken a hard line on the issue, while Thune is up for reelection, complicating the situation for him.

Yet neither has had to deal with anything like the Uvalde massacre in their own state, both from a personal and political standpoint. Cornyn was scheduled to appear at an NRA event in Houston just days after the Uvalde shooting, but chose not to attend due to a scheduling conflict.

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, Cornyn’s fellow Texan, also has rejected any discussion of new gun control laws. Cruz has said the “most effective” safety measure for schools is to have “armed law enforcement” on campus.

So Cornyn will only end up supporting a proposal that will get the backing of 20 to 25 Senate Republicans or more. Cornyn isn’t expected to be part of a deal just for the sake of a deal. We’re not sure there’s a proposal that will get that much Senate GOP support, but we’ll have to see.

We’d also expect any potential agreement to focus heavily on the mental health aspect of the gun violence equation, including some significant funding for federal programs or grants to states.

But this is a look at Cornyn’s leadership style. He’s indeed taking a risk in entering into gun-control negotiations. If a deal emerges, Cornyn will have to own it and sell it to his colleagues. If the talks fail, Cornyn will have been part of yet another round of gun control negotiations that fall flat, even in the wake of 19 children and two adults being murdered in a small town in his state.

Also: With House Democrats prepared to move a package of gun-control bills through the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, there’s still a lot of discussion inside the Democratic Caucus about that initiative

We broke the news on the House Democrats “Protecting Our Kids Act” on Tuesday. Judiciary will send the package to the floor for a vote next week when the House returns from the Memorial Day recess. A red flag bill offered by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), combined with a proposal from Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) encouraging states to set up these programs, will also get a vote.

There was a leadership call on Tuesday that included Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who chairs the Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Here’s Thompson:

One week away: We’re less than one week away from our first editorial event in June! Join us on Tuesday, June 7 at 9 a.m. ET for a conversation with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) on the environmental impact of 5G in manufacturing. RSVP today!

– Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Heather Caygle

---