Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio.) announced his support Tuesday for banning military-style weapons, limiting magazines and implementing so-called "red flag" legislation to "quickly identify people who are dangerous and remove their ability to harm others."
Why it matters: Turner previously served as mayor of Dayton, Ohio, and now represents the city — one of the 2 communities struck by mass shootings last weekend. In a statement, Turner wrote, "I understand not every shooting can be prevented or stopped from these measures, but I do believe these steps are essential."
President Trump, his 2020 campaign and the RNC sued California Tuesday over its law that requires presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release their 5 most recent years' tax returns before they can appear on the state's primary ballot.
The big picture: The California law directly challenges Trump's continued refusal to release his tax returns, but the lawsuits argue it violates the Constitution by creating an extra requirement to become president.
White nationalism — a racist extremism that was confined to the ugly fringes for most of our lives — is a growing major danger in America.
The big picture: Racial resentment and anxiety have been a central appeal for Donald Trump and his rhetoric among the working-class, forgotten Americans who put him over the top, and who are at the core of his re-election strategy.
Despite broad efforts to crack down on misinformation ahead of the 2020 election, the primary season so far has been chock full of deceptive messages and misleading information.
Why it matters: More sophisticated tactics that have emerged since 2016 threaten to derail the democratic process by further polluting online debate. And the seemingly unending influx of fakery could plant enough suspicion and cynicism to throw an otherwise legitimate election into question.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway clashed with CNN's Christiane Amanpour over President Trump's divisive rhetoric during a heated interview Monday on the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last weekend.
Why it matters: Several Democratic presidential candidates have labeled Trump a racist for his hardline immigration policies and Twitter attacks on lawmakers of color. Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke told CNN that Trump is a "white nationalist" who is encouraging more racism and violence in the U.S.
The big picture: Trump condemned racism and white supremacy during an address to the nation earlier Monday.
All 4 living former Fed chairs co-signed an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Monday, warning of the troubles with a Federal Reserve beholden to short-term politics instead of independently working to meet its mandates of maximum employment and stable prices.
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke told Pod Save America Monday that he favors abolishing the filibuster in order to enact gun control legislation.
Why it matters: The former Texas congressman has been a vocal figure since a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart left 22 dead on Saturday. The event has triggered renewed attention to gun control legislation, with a focus on two background check bills passed by the House but not yet heard in the Senate.
Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) announced Monday he will not seek re-election in 2020, becoming the fourth Texas Republican House member to announce retirement in recent weeks, the New York Times first reported.
Why it matters: Texas, which holds 38 electoral college votes, is increasingly becoming more competitive for Democrats in both presidential and congressional elections. Marchant won re-election in Texas' 24th district in November by just 3 points and is now the 12th House Republican retiring at the end of their term. Only 3 House Democrats have announced they aren't running in 2020.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to return the Senate from August recess to "immediately" vote on a House-passed background check bill and send it to President Trump's desk.
The big picture: Pelosi and Schumer are putting the pressure on McConnell to respond to the weekend's 2 mass shootings, pointing to the fact that the House passed 2 gun-control bills earlier this year. Pelosi led a noon call with the House Democratic Caucus on Monday to discuss how to move forward.
President Trump condemned racism and white supremacy Monday during an address to the nation after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend.
"In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul."
President Trump said in a pair of Monday tweets that Republicans and Democrats should "come together and get strong background checks" after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, suggesting the policy could be tied to immigration reform.
The big picture: The Democratic-led House passed a series of bills addressing gun reform, including the Bipartisan Background Checks Act in February. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has yet to take up those bills for debate, though it's unclear whether Trump supports the House proposal — or something else entirely.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told me yesterday that he’d advised President Trump it would be a huge mistake, substantively and politically, to withdraw all U.S. military members from Afghanistan by the 2020 election.
What he's saying: "When it comes to the election of 2020. I think it would be very easy for the president to defend leaving a counterterrorism force that was recommended by our military and intelligence community, to protect the homeland after the debacle in Iraq."
At one point Sunday morning, three different 2020 Democrats were being interviewed about the shootings on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, calling for more gun restrictions but directing much of their criticism at President Trump, AP reports.
Between the lines: ABC News political director Rick Klein told Jonathan Karl on "This Week," "I've been struck by how many candidates have gone straight from the gun control debate to this broader issue ... about the environment that's being festered in this country of racial divisiveness, of the president's rhetoric."
The state of play: "I don't care about the politics right now," texted a friend who's in politics at the highest level. "I'm scared that we could look back on this as the beginning of a true catastrophe for America."
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke criticized the media's treatment of President Trump after a CNN reporter asked if there's anything Trump can do to make things better following 2 mass shootings over the weekend.
"What do you think? You know the s--- he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the f---? ... I mean, connect the dots about what he's been doing in this country."
Bernie Sanders had the highest volume of Twitter mentions in the second round of the Democratic debates last week, and the debates generated 18% more tweets than the first round in June even though the TV audience was much smaller, according to data provided to Axios by Sprout Social.
Why it matters: Compared to the first round, last week's debates were heavier on disagreement and confrontation, allowing voters to see discrepancies in the candidates and how they responded to challenges in real time, a departure from rehearsed stump speeches.
President Trump offered condolences after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, this weekend, telling reporters in Morristown, New Jersey: "Hate has no place in our country and we're gonna take care of it."
"This has been going for years. For years and years and we have to get it stopped. Perhaps more has to be done. This is also a mental illness problem. These are people who are very, very seriously mentally ill."
