Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Talks Gun Control and Midterm Elections
Parkland, Fla., students calling for stricter gun laws will be heard at the polls, according to one Florida congresswoman.
“People are going to be hard-pressed running for office this year [if they] are not for real solutions that include making sure that we get weapons of war out of the hands of civilians,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
“Voters need to make sure that...if we can’t get these kinds of laws passed to protect our people, then we need to elect people across this country who will.”
The Valentine’s Day attack has led to a wave of activism from students both in Parkland and across the nation. Some right-leaning politicians have softened their stance, expressing support for stronger background checks, banning “bump stocks”, and increasing the legal age limit for purchasing a gun.
But Wasserman Schultz says words are not enough. She vows that she and her Democratic colleagues will “hold the Republican majority’s feet to the fire.”
While the GOP does currently hold an advantage in both houses of Congress, some pundits believe that Democrats could regain a lead in this year’s midterms in November.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congresswoman-debbie-wasserman-schultz-d-fl-talks-gun-reform-and-2018).
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
