Republican lawmakers are seeking ways to overturn a Biden administration rule aimed toward cracking down on so-called gun show loopholes after the new mandate was used to cancel a gun show in Montana last month. 

The gun show in Hamilton, Montana, was canceled in response to the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule, which took effect on May 20 and requires vendors selling guns to be federally licensed and to conduct background checks — rules that are typically not enforced at gun shows.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the Biden administration was “weaponizing the administrative state against law-abiding American citizens.” 

And Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., warned the rule was an attempt to institute universal background checks that would “eventually lead to a nationwide firearms registry and subsequent gun confiscation.” Read Full Story

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Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday lowered expectations about his ability to be exonerated in his hush money trial, saying the charges were “rigged” against him to result in a conviction.

“Mother Teresa could not beat those charges. But we’ll see,” he told reporters in the courthouse hallway. Jurors are deliberating the 34 counts of falsifying business records charged against the former president brought by New York officials, though Trump insists President Joe Biden ordered up the charges to help his flailing campaign against the presumptive Republican nominee. Read Full Story

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The House is set to vote on a bill that would make it illegal for noncitizens in Washington, D.C., to vote in local elections, with Republicans hoping to push Democrats into a corner just months ahead of the November election.

“A growing number of localities are blurring the lines for noncitizens by allowing them to vote in municipal local elections,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is working on a separate bill to ban noncitizens from voting. “Democrats have expressed a desire to turn noncitizens into voters. That’s what this open border has been all about.” 

Lawmakers will vote on the legislation later this week, which would overturn a local law allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections deciding city laws and electing members of the Council of the District of Columbia. Democrats are looking to thwart those efforts, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark is urging party members to vote against the bill when it comes to the floor. Read Full Story

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