GOP, Democratic lawmakers unified in denouncing Trump shooting but fiercely divided over one proposed response

Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, the youngest member of Congress, and a Democratic legislator first inspired to go into public service after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had just removed his earbuds as he approached a bank of cameras in a Capitol Hill hallway last week. Frost was poised to step into a highly anticipated House Judiciary Committee hearing investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.   

When CBS News asked him to share his thoughts on the Secret Service failure that led to the shooting at the Pennsylvania rally, Frost paused a moment and then agreed to talk.

“We need to remove the means of political violence,” he said.   

He was talking about AR-style assault rifles, including the type used by the gunman who fired eight shots at the Trump rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

Six days after the assassination attempt, Frost sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson urging the House to be allowed to debate an assault weapons ban. The letter opened, “We write to you with an urgent and unequivocal call to action.”

“The need to act against political violence is not a partisan issue, it is a matter of public safety and common sense,” Frost wrote. “It should not take the attempted assassination of a former President for the Speaker of the House to act. A failure to respond in the face of a brazen, attack almost certainly invites a future tragedy.”

The call has been disregarded.

Democrats are renewing their calls for new gun safety legislation, in the wake of the Trump shooting attempt, according to a dozen interviews CBS News conducted with House and Senate members. But at public hearings, in media interviews and floor debate, Republicans are avoiding or dismissing the topic and appear no less inclined to allow the consideration of any gun bills.

When asked by CBS News if the assassination attempt would result in new consideration of gun control, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas responded, “Sometimes the media beclowns itself, and questions like that are good example of why.”

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri also dismissed the idea. He referenced a 2022 gun bill in telling CBS News, “We’ve already passed gun legislation — over my ‘no”‘vote. It didn’t do anything to help with the Trump assassination (attempt).”

At a July 22 House hearing investigating the Secret Service’s failure to prevent the attempt on Trump’s life, several Democrats highlighted the danger posed by the type of firearm used by the gunman. No Republicans mentioned it. 

House Democrats have attempted to force a floor debate and vote on gun legislation, including a ban on automatic weapons this year. But even the members of Congress who have authored and championed the bills told CBS News they expect no support from Republicans in the wake of the Trump shooting.

Rep. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat who has led House Democrats gun control initiatives for several years, told CBS News, “Republicans would rather point out the failure of local law enforcement and the Secret Service, rather than do something that would protect the communities.”

Thompson said House Republicans who have supported some gun control initiatives in prior years have declined to sign on to efforts in 2023 and 2024. 

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a first-term Maryland Democrat who sponsored a bill to restrict the sale or transfer of some semiautomatic guns to people under 21, told CBS News there has been no interest expressed by Republicans to join. Ivey said, “It’s unclear to me why they’ve decided, across the board, that they’re not going to do any of these.”

House Democrats have formally filed at least seven gun control-related discharge petitions, which are parliamentary tools that would force House votes if 218 signatures are collected.   A CBS News review found each petition has secured at least 148 signatures, but none has been signed by a Republican, which prevents any from reaching the 218-signature threshold.

The window for new legislation is quickly closing before the 2024 election. The House has begun a summer recess through September, with only a handful of full legislative days remaining until Election Day on Nov. 5.

Some of the House Republican bills to fund the government for 2025, call for rollbacks or reductions in some gun control or safety funding and programs, including at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.   

One GOP proposal would reduce funding for the agency’s rules limiting some pistol braces and privately-made firearms. Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, said he fears gun control advocates are losing hope and motivation. Quigley told CBS news, “I see this discouragement among my constituents. There are groups that are extraordinarily active after tragedies. I just don’t see them as active now.”

Rep. Marc Veasey, a Texas Democrat who is a gun owner, said he’s frustrated about the collapse of proposals that have bipartisan support among his constituents.  

“While there is certainly some disagreement over things like automatic weapons,” he said, “there is overwhelming support for things like background checks and closing the gun-show loophole.”