Amid growing Republican opposition to a bipartisan proposal that would expand background checks for gun purchases, one of the measure’s chief sponsors acknowledged Wednesday that it will fail in the Senate — at least for now.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) conceded to NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell that the proposal “will not get the votes today.” O’Donnell relayed the remarks on Twitter.
Sen. Joe Manchin tells me “we will not get the votes today” expanded background checks to fail in Senate. Try again he says.
— Kelly O’Donnell (@KellyO) April 17, 2013
Following O’Donnell’s tweet, a spokesman for Manchin issued a statement expressing optimism about the measure’s prospects. “So far Senator Manchin has managed to garner support from an A-rated NRA member and three Republican Senators as well as 90 percent of his own party,” the spokesman said in the statement. “With a record like that, I see no reason to bet against Senator Manchin today.”
This post has been updated.
