President Donald Trump has been in contact with a bipartisan handful of senators recently about gun control policies, the first seemingly meaningful talks on the issue since his presidency began.
According to Politico Playbook, Trump has been in personal contact with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).
Legislative affairs director Eric Ueland is reportedly heading up the meetings, predictive of a better forecast for the legislation than would be possible if it was snarled in the usual pissing contest among White House officials.
Hope for successful gun control legislation always feels like a fool’s errand, but some factors, like the current implosion of the NRA, may be making the prospect more palatable for Republicans this time around. Read TPM’s analysis of the conditions on the ground here.
