Supreme Court temporarily revives Biden's "ghost guns" regulation

The big picture: In a 5-4 vote, the court stayed a Texas judge's ruling blocking the regulation.

• Conservatives Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal justices in the majority.
• Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would've denied the Justice Department's application to temporarily reverse the lower court ruling.

What they're saying: "We're glad that the Supreme Court temporarily paused the lower courts' orders blocking the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to curtail gun violence and save lives," White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said in a statement on Tuesday.

Zoom in: The Biden administration regulation, announced in 2022, changed the definition of a firearm to include unfinished gun parts, like frames and receivers.

• Under the rule, those firearm parts would be required to have serial numbers, and dealers selling them would have to perform background checks on potential buyers.

• The decision was announced in a brief, meaning no reasons were given for the hold. It is also temporary, allowing the Biden administration to enforce the regulation while challenges play out in court.

Go deeper: U.S. averaging 2 mass shootings per day so far this year

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comment from White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton.