House GOP indefinitely delays gun control votes

House Republican infighting has forced GOP leaders to indefinitely postpone a vote on an "anti-terrorism package," leaving Congress with no legislative response to last month's massacre in Orlando.

As Democrats are pushing Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for votes on their gun control proposals, taking to the House floor Thursday to read the names of victims of gun violence, Republicans can’t agree among themselves on what they will support in a gun package.


While some in House leadership hold out hope for a vote before the July 15 recess, sources cautioned that much work remains to get there.

"We aren’t trying to rush anything — it’s most important to get it right, so we are continuing to work with members toward that end," said a senior House GOP aide, echoing comments Ryan made earlier at a press conference Thursday.

“We want to get this terrorism legislation right," Ryan said. "Lots of our members when we posted the bill have given us many suggestions. So we're trying to get this legislation right. We're trying to reflect the consensus of our conference so that we can bring a bill to the floor that deals with this violence, that deals with terrorism, that deals with these issues. And we're not going to rush it. We're going to get it right."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last week unveiled a proposal — identical to that offered Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) — to require the Justice Department to go to court to prove “probable cause” that a person is involved in terrorism before blocking a gun purchase. Law enforcement agencies would have 72 hours to try to stop the sale. The powerful National Rifle Association has backed the Cornyn proposal, but the Senate did not approve it or competing Democratic proposals.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has dismissed the Cornyn plan as a “toothless NRA bill that will do nothing to keep our communities safe.”

But hard-line GOP conservatives came out against the leadership bill amid concerns about due process rights. The House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday said it would vote as a bloc against the proposal unless it’s amended. That forced leadership to postpone consideration of the bill, which was slated to hit the floor this week. Ryan and McCarthy hoped a conference meeting would assuage members, but they still don’t appear to have the votes needed, sources say.

In a Thursday whip meeting, leadership told senior lawmakers they wouldn’t be able to take up the bill this week because they were still working through the disagreements with the far-right flank.

Other Republican leadership sources said they hope to take up the package next week, but they are not committing to doing so at this point.

Democrats have been demanding votes on two proposals. One would bar anyone on the federal "No fly" list from being allowed to buy a gun; the other would expand federal background checks to all gun sales. Both measures have been defeated in the Senate, making a House vote little more than a symbolic gesture.

