GOP signals unease with Barr's gun plan

Senate Republicans are treading cautiously on a background checks plan floated by Attorney General William Barr that has been decried as a “non-starter” by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Barr floated the proposal to GOP offices on Wednesday as the Senate inches toward doing something on gun control amid growing public pressure created by a seemingly endless string of mass shootings. But Barr was careful to tell Republicans that his memo on background checks, titled “Idea for New Unlicensed-Commercial-Sale Background Checks,” did not have the backing of President Trump. “I’m up here just kicking around some ideas, getting perspectives so I can be in a better position to advise the president,” Barr told reporters. “But the president has made no decision yet.” GOP lawmakers, for their part, were decidedly noncommittal, with several saying they still wanted to hear what Trump would back. “It’s one thing to have a few ideas on paper,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who met with Barr and White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland on Tuesday. “But in terms of actually being a concrete proposal where you can say, ‘How do you feel about this?’ I need to see a lot,” Hawley told reporters, summarizing his meeting with Barr. “My question was, where’s the president on this? Is this something — I asked that question directly — is this something the president supports?” Hawley said Ueland couldn’t say whether Trump backs the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposal. “That’s an important piece, because if the president doesn’t support it, there’s no point. It’s not going to become law,” he added. The NRA moved quickly to dismiss the proposal, which would expand background checks along the lines of a 2013 amendment to a gun violence bill that was sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). “This missive is a non-starter with the NRA and our 5 million members because it burdens law-abiding gun owners while ignoring what actually matters: fixing the broken mental health system and the prosecution of violent criminals,” said Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action...MORE

Barr is up on the hill shopping ideas so he can advise the President on what proposals would have the support of Senate Republicans, and Senate Republicans won't commit on any proposal unless they know the President supports it. That leaves us nowhere, and that's good.