Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who plans to introduce background check legislation similar to the compromise formed by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), believes a background check bill can pass in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives if it first passes with strong support in the Senate, he told the Washington Post Thursday.
“The combination of having Manchin and Toomey as the main sponsors, and assuming it can pass the Senate with a significant majority, greatly increases the chances that it will attract enough Republican support to pass the House,” Rep. King told me in an interview. “If Pat Toomey can support it, most conservatives should be able to support it and should want to support it.”
King said he has been in talks with a number of House Republicans about joining the effort, and that he would be “aggressive” in pursuing them in the wake of the Toomey-Manchin announcement, which could help change the debate for some conservatives. Yesterday Toomey said there are a “substantial number” of House Republicans who support his proposal’s “general approach.”
