President Joe Biden urged Americans to elect politicians who support stricter gun laws and said on a late-night talk shown that he hasn’t done more on gun safety through executive action because he doesn’t want to “abuse” the US constitution like his predecessor, Donald Trump.
He asked Biden why he couldn’t issue more executive orders on gun safety. The president cited Trump as a cautionary example of executive overreach. Pressure has mounted on Biden and Democrats who control Congress after a spate of recent shootings, including the Uvalde, Texas, murders and a racist, fatal attack in Buffalo, New York. The House passed gun-safety legislation Wednesday, but the bill is likely doomed in the Senate, with any eventual new law hinging on delicate negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in the evenly divided chamber.
Kimmel repeatedly pressed Biden on his lack of progress on his broader agenda, including issues ranging from guns to abortion rights, voting rights, climate change and inflation. Biden chalked up the inaction to the divided Senate, where Democrats hold only 50 seats.