The White House is working with its allies on a well-financed campaign in Washington and around the country to shift public opinion toward stricter gun laws and provide political cover to lawmakers who end up voting for an assault-weapons ban or other restrictions on firearms.
With President Obama preparing to push a legislative agenda aimed at curbing the nation’s gun violence, pillars of his political network, along with independent groups, are raising millions of dollars and mapping out strategies in an attempt to shepherd new regulations through Congress.
But the efforts, designed in large part to counter opposition from the National Rifle Association, face serious political obstacles on Capitol Hill. The NRA spent more than $20 million on federal election campaigns last year, and its lobbying muscle extends from Washington to state capitals around the country.
Most Republicans in the GOP-controlled House also oppose additional gun regulations, as do some key Democrats in the Senate — meaning that the groups aligned with Obama will have to persuade dozens of skeptical lawmakers to vote for the president’s eventual proposals.
Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, who were arrested and charged for their role in an...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing scrutiny over its assertion that federal officers can forcibly enter...
The decision by Donald Trump’s justice department to conduct no investigation into the deadly use of...
Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday staunchly defended his stymied efforts to prosecute President Trump,...
