This week we have one of the top Capitol Hill reporters on the podcast.
The House passed a package of gun-control bills and bipartisan discussions in the Senate have been making progress towards a deal. So, I wanted to bring on Punchbowl Co-Founder John Bresnahan to give us a breakdown of where this is all really headed. Bresnahan has been reporting on the Hill for as long as anybody, and nobody else has a better view of what's going on.
He said Senators John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) are the key players. He said the two are genuinely trying to come to a deal, and the odds of a gun bill package passing the Senate are higher than they've been in years.
Bresnahan said the policies that have passed the House are non-starters in the Senate. Instead, Senators are looking at other solutions. The top ideas so far are including some juvenile criminal records in the FBI background check system, "red flag" model legislation coupled with a state grant program, and expanding a mental health funding program to all states.
However, Bresnahan cautioned that the real threshold for a successful bill is whether it can attract not just 60 votes but also a majority of Republican support. He said he remains skeptical something can actually get across the finish line. He's still watching to see if and when an actual written bill comes together.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss New York's new gun laws and the foiled plot by a gun-control advocate to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh.