Donald Trump criticized top Senate Republicans for backing a bipartisan gun control bill, but it appears nearly a third of them could break with him to support the legislation.
Donald Trump spoke in Wyoming in May of 2022. The photo was taken by the man.
McConnell and Cornyn were both called out by Trump on his social media platform.
The text of the highly anticipated bill was released Tuesday evening, laying out proposals such as enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21, federal grants to incentivize states to pass red-flag laws and the closing of the "boyfriend" loophole to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
The Senate voted 64-34 shortly after the text was made public to begin debate on the bill, with 14 Republican senators joining all 50 Democrats on the procedural vote.
The framework of the bill was not supported by Sen. Pat Toomey but he is expected to take part in a final vote.
The Senate wants to pass the bill before the chamber goes on a break. The bill requires 10 Republican votes to pass.
The massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, led to a massive public outcry for lawmakers to take action on guns. A group of senators led by Cornyn on the Republican side and Chris Murphy on the Democratic side worked for weeks to craft a gun control bill that could pass the Senate. Major Democratic proposals like raising the age to buy assault weapons and universal background checks were quickly ruled out of the bill, but groups like the National Rifle Association and right-wing figures like Trump criticized any action on guns.
At the Texas Republican Convention last week, a speech from Cornyn was drowned out by boos despite the conservative senator telling the crowd he kept Democrats' gun-grabbing wishlist off the table.
According to the New York Times, during his presidency, Trump pressed his advisers to take action on gun control measures, but they never did.
There is no gun control following the Texas school shooting.
Cornyn was booed at the Texas GOP convention for discussing gun control.
The senators struck a deal on the gun control bill.
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