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Five takeaways from races in Alabama, Georgia and beyond

Voters headed to the polls for yet another primary night on Tuesday, which also saw several high-profile runoffs that could provide tea leaves for the direction of the Republican Party.

Washington, D.C., and Virginia held their primaries amid growing concerns over crime and skyrocketing inflation. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser managed to fend off multiple challengers to secure a likely third term in office, while Republican candidates fought to see who would take on the vulnerable Democratic incumbents in two competitive Virginia districts.

In Georgia, meanwhile, Donald Trump’s influence was once again put to the test, while an ex-acolyte of the former president suffered a high-profile loss in a Senate runoff in Alabama.

Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries.

Trump dealt another whammy in Georgia

The former president had another bad night in the Peach State.

Emergency room doctor Rich McCormick won his primary in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, defeating Trump-endorsed attorney Jake Evans.

Meanwhile, Republican Mike Collins defeated former state Rep. Vernon Jones (R) in a primary runoff in the state’s 10th congressional district. Jones, a former Democrat, jumped out of the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary after Trump promised to endorse him in the district. Collins, on the other hand, had the endorsement of Trump foe Gov. Brian Kemp (R), making the race a proxy war between the former president and governor.

Tuesday’s losses come hot on the heels of the Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary, where Kemp easily defeated former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), Trump’s chosen candidate.

Kemp earned Trump’s ire after the governor certified the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has also faced Trump’s wrath. Raffensperger, who earlier Tuesday testified before Jan. 6 Committee, survived a Trump-backed primary challenge last month. On Tuesday, State Rep. Bee Nguyen (D) won the Democratic nomination to take Raffensperger on in the general election. Nguyen will likely face an uphill climb against the Republican secretary of state, but Raffensperger will need to rally Trump’s ultra conservative base in the general election.

A high-profile defeat for a hard-right Republican in Alabama

Republican Alabama Senate candidate Katie Britt defeated Rep. Mo Brooks (R) in that state’s GOP Senate primary runoff, signaling a defeat for the party’s far right flank.

Britt, who previously served as Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) chief of staff, was endorsed by Trump earlier this month after Trump retracted his endorsement for Brooks.

Trump withdrew his endorsement for the congressman in March after Brooks said the GOP should move on from the 2020 election. Additionally, the congressman was one of several GOP lawmakers who were said to be subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“Mo Brooks of Alabama made a horrible mistake recently when he went ‘woke’ and stated, referring to the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, ‘Put that behind you, put that behind you,'” Trump said in his statement retracting his endorsement for Brooks.

However, there were rumblings that Trump was long disappointed in Brooks’s ability to fundraise and his standing in the polls.

The loss capped a surprising fall for Brooks, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus who was previously an ardent supporter of Trump.

Britt is heavily favored to win the state’s Senate race, which the non-partisan Cook Political Report has rated as “solid Republican.”

The GOP establishment scores key wins

Establishment Republicans saw victories in runoffs in Alabama and Georgia, a potential sign of Trump’s weakening grasp on the GOP.

In Georgia, Kemp-endorsed candidate Collins beat Trump’s favored candidate. Meanwhile, in Alabama, Britt, who Shelby helped propel to victory, defeated ultra-conservative Brooks. While Trump did endorse Britt after revoking his endorsement for Brooks, his involvement was not seen as a particularly decisive factor in her victory.

However, the establishment victories do not necessarily mean that Trumpism is no longer a potent force. Britt enthusiastically touted Trump’s endorsement when she received it earlier this month. And Collins said at his election party that he hoped to work together with Trump going forward.

“I expect Donald Trump to call us because we’re gonna be friends together, and we’re gonna move forward together because that’s what the party is about,” Collins said.

DC voters stick mostly with the status quo

Incumbent Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) easily won her party’s primary, setting her up for a third term as mayor, despite multiple challengers and growing concerns in the district over rising crime and housing costs. Bowser benefited from a number of factors, including an incumbency advantage as well as a number of high-profile feuds with Trump during the pandemic.

Bowser defeated fellow Democrats Robert White, Trayon White and James Butler.

However, her win also represents another loss for progressives looking to take on establishment figures in her primary. Bowser largely stood by her police department in 2020 as calls to defund police departments mounted in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd. Instead of reallocating any funding from the department, Bowser instead pushed for funding to expand the department.

Meanwhile, At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds appeared headed for a third term, while attorney general candidate Brian Schwalb, who had the endorsement of current officeholder Karl Racine, looked set to clinch victory in his race.

Another good night for GOP Latina candidates

Republicans scored yet another victory in a Latina candidate on Tuesday with Yesli Vega’s victory in Virginia’s 7th congressional district.

Vega, a former police officer and Prince William County, Va. supervisor, defeated five other Republicans in the primary to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in the district.

The Republican nominee invoked her Salvadoran roots in her victory speech on Tuesday.

“I am the proud daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, yes I am,” Vega said to cheers in Woodbridge, Va.

“You came to this country with nothing, but you realized your American dream and the Republican Party is still the party that defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she continued.  

Vega’s wins comes exactly a week after Republican Rep. Mayra Flores (R) flipped Texas’ 34th congressional district in a special election. Flores was sworn into office earlier on Tuesday.

Republicans have set their sights on recruiting more Latino candidates and making inroads with Latino voters. The party saw gains in Latino communities last election, particularly in south Texas and south Florida.

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Here are the 14 GOP senators who voted to advance gun safety bill

The Senate on Tuesday broke through nearly 30 years of stalemate on gun control legislation by voting 64 to 34 to advance an 80-page gun safety bill to respond to the mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, that left 31 people dead, including 19 school children.  

The Senate voted to proceed to the bill just more than an hour after negotiators unveiled its text, giving lawmakers little time to digest its details.  

The bill had strong momentum after a group of 10 Republican senators led by Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who has an A-plus rating from the NRA, earlier this month signed onto a bipartisan framework of principles with 10 Democrats.  

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave the effort another boost last week when he announced that he supported the bipartisan framework and would also support legislation based on its key points.  

Every Senate Democrat was expected to support the bill, even though it didn’t include more far-reaching reforms that many of them support, such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and universal background checks.  

The vote shakes up the politics of the gun violence debate in Congress as many of the Republicans who voted to proceed to the bill have A or A-plus NRA ratings.  

Here are the 14 Republicans who voted yes:

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) 

Cornyn is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who negotiated with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) last year on legislation to expand background checks for commercial sellers but without success.  

Cornyn scored one of the few notable accomplishments on gun violence legislation in recent years when he coauthored and helped pass the Fix NICS Act in 2018. The legislation required federal agencies to produce plans for uploading all relevant information to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System.  

McConnell tapped Cornyn to lead the negotiations for Republicans shortly after a bipartisan group of senators met in Murphy’s basement to begin talks in hopes of finding a way to respond to the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings.  

Cornyn has an A-plus rating from the NRA and McConnell has praised him for knowing more about gun-safety policy than anyone else in the Senate GOP conference.  

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) 

McConnell showed his interest in passing a bill to respond to the violence in Buffalo and Uvalde when he tapped Cornyn to lead the negotiations with Democrats. 

A Republican senator close to McConnell said the leader’s decision to task Cornyn with the job showed that he wanted to get a positive result.  

McConnell later said as much when speaking to reporters this month.  

“I am hopeful that we could come up with a bipartisan solution that’s directly related to the facts of this awful massacre,” he said in late May.  

McConnell announced last week that he would support the gun-safety bill if it hewed to the bipartisan framework endorsed by 10 Republican and 10 Democratic senators on June 12.  

McConnell also has an A-plus rating from the NRA. 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) 

Tillis made up the core negotiating group along with Cornyn and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). 

He was initially seen as skeptical toward gun-safety legislation when early on during the debate he raised concerns about red flag legislation but once Cornyn and McConnell brought him into the talks he turned out to be a valuable asset to the negotiations.

Tillis is viewed as a good political barometer of the Republican Party and his support for the framework likely encouraged other Republicans to sign on.  

He has an A NRA rating.  

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 

Collins is one of the principal dealmakers in the Senate and she attended the first meeting in Murphy’s hideaway in late May. Collins was particularly active in the talks to combat illegal straw purchasing and firearms trafficking.  

She introduced the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act in April of last year.  

Collins has a B rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) 

Graham cosponsored legislation with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in 2018 to amend the federal criminal code to authorize and establish procedures for a family member or law enforcement officer to request a court order to take away a firearm from someone judged to pose a risk to himself or others.  

Graham attended the first meeting of the bipartisan group in Murphy’s hideaway and said afterward that he supported legislation to create incentives for states to administer red flag laws if they chose.  

Graham has an A rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) 

Cassidy worked on the mental health component of the gun safety bill and participated in the first bipartisan discussion in Murphy’s office via telephone.  

Cassidy is building a reputation for himself as a bipartisan dealmaker. He signed a statement last year endorsing a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure framework, which paved the way for the deal eventually passing.  

He’s not up for re-election until 2026. 

Cassidy has an A rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) 

Blunt is the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and a close ally of McConnell’s.

He’s not as moderate as other Republicans who signed onto the bipartisan framework on gun-safety principles earlier this month.  

McConnell’s desire to get a result on gun-safety legislation may have helped Blunt vote yes. He is retiring from Congress at the end of the year.  

Blunt has an A rating from the NRA.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) 

Burr is another McConnell loyalist who is retiring from Congress at the end of this year.  

The prominent role that his home-state colleague Tillis played in the talks gave Burr more incentive to vote for proceeding to the bill.  

He also signed onto the bipartisan framework of principles released on June 12.  

He has an A-plus rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) 

Romney has emerged with Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as the three most likely Republican swing votes in this Congress.  

He voted twice to convict former President Trump on impeachment charges.  

Romney kept his involvement in the discussions pretty low-profile but he signed the June bipartisan framework.  

He played a prominent role in negotiating last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill and earlier this bill hashed out a compromise with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a $10 billion COVID relief package.

He is one of the biggest bipartisan dealmakers in the Senate and has an A rating from the NRA. 

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) 

Portman was one of the 10 Republican senators who endorsed the June framework along with 10 Democrats.  

He is an advisor to McConnell’s leadership team and will retire from Congress at the end of the year.  

Portman was one of the lead negotiators on last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. More recently he has emerged as the Senate’s leading champion for supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

He has an A rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)  

Capito was one of the four surprise Republican votes for proceeding to the gun safety bill Tuesday evening.  

Capito did not endorse the June framework and when asked about it said she would have to review the details of the legislative text before rendering an opinion on whether she would support or oppose the bill.

Capito is also an advisor to McConnell’s leadership team and her home-state colleague Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was an early participant in the bipartisan discussions on responding to the violence in Uvalde.  

Capito has an A rating from the NRA.  

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) 

Ernst didn’t endorse the bipartisan framework when it was first unveiled this month and also said she wanted to review the legislative text before making a decision.

Ernst is a member of McConnell’s leadership team as the vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference.

She was seen as a possible yes vote after she signaled willingness to consider raising the minimum age for buying an AR-15-style rifle to 21. 

She has an A rating from the NRA.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) 

Murkowski was viewed as a mystery vote heading into floor consideration of the gun safety bill.  

Murkowski deflected reporters’ questions about the various gun-safety proposals in recent weeks by saying she was focused on other issues.  

She played a leading role in negotiating last year’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill and isn’t afraid to break with the majority of her conference on big votes.  

She famously opposed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation in 2018 and voted to impeach Trump for inciting insurrection last year.

Murkowski is up for re-election in November but she has a built a political base for herself in Alaska that includes many moderate Republicans, independents and Democrats.

She has an A rating from the NRA.  

Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) 

Young was one of the biggest surprises to emerge on Tuesday after he voted to proceed to the legislation.

He’s a former member of McConnell’s elected leadership team as someone who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2019 and 2020.

Young has a pragmatic streak and knows that showing independent voters and suburban women, two key electoral blocs, that Republicans know how to govern is good politics in general elections.  

Young is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and has an A-plus rating from the NRA.  

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March For Our Lives applauds bipartisan gun safety bill

Student-led organization March For Our Lives praised the Senate bipartisan gun safety bill on Tuesday, saying the new bill is “what progress looks like.” 

“This is what progress looks like. Just ten days ago, thousands of Americans came together, laid down our differences and demanded that our elected leaders do the same in order to address a common threat: the urgent crisis of gun violence,” the organization said in its statement on Tuesday. 

“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provides long-awaited federal solutions to the key causes of gun deaths in this country: too many weapons in the wrong hands and inadequate resources for the health of individuals and communities.” 

MFOL also expressed their gratitude toward Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the lead negotiators for the bill, for his “tireless efforts” to bring the gun safety bill to life and the mass shootings survivors and gun reform activists who added pressure on politicians to address this issue as well. 

“To be clear, while this doesn’t include everything we need to declare victory on the gun violence epidemic, it is substantive progress. This bill shows us that it is actually possible to break through partisan gridlock in Congress to find common ground on what the vast majority of Americans actually agree on,” MFOL said, adding that the fight will constitute to go on to address gun safety in this country.

MFOL was launched in 2018 in response to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where seventeen students and teachers were killed. 

“When this bill passes, it will be the first substantial piece of federal gun safety legislation to become law in our lifetime. That’s worth celebrating,” the organization concluded. “We will keep fighting until Congress takes every step possible to end the gun violence epidemic.”

This comes as Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on Tuesday on bipartisan gun safety legislation. 

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will include funding for school safety resources, expanded background checks for buyers under the age of 21, penalties for straw purchases of firearms, and new protections for domestic violence victims. 

The bill, which came in response to the recent string of mass shootings in the U.S., is expected to pass in the Senate as 10 GOP lawmakers already signed off on the framework of the legislation.

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Jill Biden to deliver remarks in Florida for Surfside memorial event

Jill Biden will visit Surfside, Fla., on Friday for a memorial event honoring the victims of the Champlain Towers condo building collapse on the tragedy’s first anniversary.

Biden will deliver remarks at the service and will be joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell and Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, according to the first lady’s office.

The town formed a committee that has been planning the event for weeks. The planning group includes the mayor, the town manager, victims’ relatives and other supporters, the town said.

“Honoring the memories of the 98 souls lost on June 24th, 2021 and paying tribute to the brave men and women who were instrumental in the search and recovery efforts,” a description of the event published by the town reads.

Biden will first travel to Florida on Thursday for an event related to the administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative in Palm Beach County before arriving in Surfside on Friday.

The president and first lady visited the town last July in the days following the collapse, which killed 98 people and gripped newscasts nationwide.

During their earlier visit, the Bidens visited privately with the families impacted by the tragedy, received a briefing from state and local officials and thanked first responders. 

They also visited a photo wall memorial blocks away from the former 12-story, 130-unit Champlain Towers condo building, laying a bouquet of flowers at the memorial.

The Bidens also met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) during the visit. DeSantis praised Biden’s response to the tragedy during the meeting, marking a rare moment of unity between the two politicians.

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CEO: Paramount+ won’t censor classic programs ‘with different sensibilities’

Paramount will not censor content that may be offensive in historic films and television shows on its streaming service, according to The Guardian.

In an interview with the news outlet, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said Paramount+, a subscription-based service soon available to U.K. households, will leave classic works as is.

“By definition, you have some things that were made in a different time and reflect different sensibilities,” he told The Guardian.

Bakish added, “I don’t believe in censoring art that was made historically, that’s probably a mistake. It’s all on demand – you don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to.”

Bakish’s comments come as Paramount+, which has already been active in the U.S., is set to debut in the U.K. on Wednesday.

Other streaming services have also opted not to remove works with outdated content, including Disney+, which instead added content advisories to classic films depicting racist stereotypes. Among the films featuring these disclaimers are “Dumbo,” “The Aristocats” and “Peter Pan.”

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Yesli Vega wins GOP primary to face Spanberger in Virginia

Former police officer and Prince William County, Va., Supervisor Yesli Vega is projected to win the Republican primary for the state’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, setting up a match-up with incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in November.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:35 p.m. ET.

Vega leaned heavily into her law enforcement background during the campaign and received notable GOP endorsements, including from Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Ginni Thomas, wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Cruz was in the district on Monday, holding two rallies for Vega. 

Spanberger is considered one of the more vulnerable House Democrats, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates her race as a “toss-up.” 

But the latest redistricting process moved her district closer to Washington, D.C., making it slightly more favorable to Democrats.

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Britt wins Alabama GOP Senate runoff

Katie Britt was projected to clinch the Republican Senate nomination in Alabama on Tuesday, defeating Rep. Mo Brooks in a closely watched primary runoff.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:30 p.m. ET.

With the nomination locked up, Britt, a former aide to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), will head into the general election as the heavy favorite to succeed her former boss, who’s retiring early next year.

Her victory marks an end to one of the most tumultuous Republican primaries of the year and hands a win to former President Trump, who endorsed Britt earlier this month.

Early in the race, Trump threw his support behind Brooks. But the Alabama congressman long struggled to gain traction with voters and irked Trump last year by suggesting that Republicans should move on from the 2020 presidential election.

Trump rescinded his endorsement of Brooks in March, dealing him a major blow just a couple of months before the May 24 primary.

Brooks ultimately staged a comeback, finishing in second in the primary, though still some 15 points behind Britt.

Trump eventually endorsed Britt, giving her a major boost ahead of the runoff and dealing a major blow to Brooks’s Senate ambitions.

Britt will now go on to face Democrat Will Boyd in the general election, though she is expected to easily win in November. Shelby, her former boss, endorsed Britt last year shortly after she launched her Senate campaign.

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'Jeopardy!' host Mayim Bialik on COVID-19: ‘It’s no joke’

“Jeopardy!” host Mayim Bialik on Tuesday revealed her COVID-19 diagnosis, telling fans she regrets ever taking off her mask.

“I have COVID and it’s no joke over here,” the actress and scientist said in a video posted to the Instagram account for her podcast, “Bialik Breakdown.”

The former “The Big Bang Theory” star said she’s been “pretty careful,” but now wishes she had taken even more precautions.

“I’m feeling a whole bunch of regret that I ever took my mask off ever in the world, like even outside,” she told her followers.

As she prepared a home remedy on camera, Bialik explained that she is fearful of how the illness will affect her.

“I’m feeling a lot of fear,” she said. “Why did I ever go out? Why did I think that anything was fine ever?”

It’s unclear if Bialik’s illness will cause her to temporarily step away from hosting “Jeopardy!,” a role she took on after former host Alex Trebek died in 2020.

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Senate advances bipartisan gun safety bill

The Senate voted 64 to 34 Tuesday evening to advance an 80-page gun safety bill to strengthen background check requirements for gun buyers under 21, provide funding to states to administer red flag laws and to provide billions of dollars in new federal funding for mental health services.  

Fourteen Republicans voted to proceed to the bill, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who announced his support for the legislation moments before the vote.  

“Our colleagues have put together a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” McConnell said, referring to the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas.  

The vote represented a rare disagreement between McConnell and the National Rifle Association, which stated its opposition to the bill Tuesday evening.  

The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action on Tuesday said “we will oppose this gun control legislation because it falls short at every level.” 

“It does little to truly address violent crime while opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners,” the group said.  

McConnell has an A-plus rating from the NRA and other Republicans who voted for it also have high ratings from the gun-rights group.  

Ten Republican senators had already signed onto the bipartisan framework of gun safety principles that formed the basis of the legislation.  

McConnell announced his likely support for the bill last week.  

Additionally, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) also voted to proceed to the legislation.  

Capito, Ernst and Murkowski have A ratings from the NRA and Young has an A-plus rating.  

The vote took place just more than an hour after Senate negotiators unveiled the text of the bill after weeks of negotiation.  

The other nine Republicans who voted to proceed to the bill signed onto the bipartisan framework made public on June 12. They were Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the lead Republican negotiator, Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio), Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Roy Blunt (Mo.).

Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) said a successful initial procedural vote would set the bill up to pass by the end of the week.  

“With an initial procedural vote tonight and flowing that, we will move to final passage as soon as possible. I expect the bill to pass the Senate by week’s end,” Schumer said on the floor.  

The bill would create a 10-year period during which the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) would be required to check state records to determine whether gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21 have juvenile crime records disqualifying them from owning a gun.  

It would also expand the use of Byrne JAG law enforcement grants to help states implement “crisis intervention court programs.” States could use the money to administer red flag laws to take guns away from people convicted of a crime or adjudicated mentally unstable.  

It would provide billions of dollars to expand a community mental health services pilot program. It would expand access to mental health services through Medicaid and allow up to 10 news states to opt into the program every two years.  

It would close the so-called boyfriend loophole by suspending the rights of someone to own a gun if he or she has been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense against an intimate or romantic partner. People who lose their gun rights could have them restored after a period of five years subsequent to the end of their criminal sentence. 

It would establish new, specific criminal offenses and tough penalties for straw purchaser and illegal gun traffickers.  

It would clarify the definition of a gun dealer by requiring individuals who buy and sell many firearms to earn profits register as Federal Firearm Licensees and conduct background checks for those transactions.

It would provide $300 million over five years for school safety programs, including school resource officers and the “hardening” of school buildings. 

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