YAMICHE ALCINDOR, PBS MODERATOR,
WASHINGTON WEEK: The gun
debate and economic challenges.

ALCINDOR (voice-over):
The nation on edge.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES: My
fellow Americans, enough.

Let's hear the call and the
cry. Let's meet the moment.
Let us finally do something.

ALCINDOR: As President
Biden calls on Congress
to pass new gun laws.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He began
firing at anyone in his way.

ALCINDOR: And more horrific
mass shootings, including
in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT):
I think I've got partners
at the table who have a lot

of credibility in the Republican
caucus. That makes me feel
good about our chances.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY):
Hopefully, we can find a way
to come together and make some

progress on this horrendous
problem, consistent
with our Constitution
and with our values.

ALCINDOR: But out of the
darkness comes hope a
bipartisan deal on guns
could pass the Senate.

Plus, ahead of the midterms,
the White House tries
to pivot its messaging

on inflation and the
economy. But will the
strategy work? Next.

(BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Once again
from Washington, moderator
Yamiche Alcindor.

ALCINDOR: Good evening and
welcome to "Washington Week".

Across the country, there
is shock and frustration
since the massacre

at Buffalo three weeks
ago, there have been
more mass shootings than
there have been days.

To be exact, since May
14th, there have been at
least 37 mass shootings
in this country. That is

according to the nonprofit
Gun Violence Archive. One
of those was on Wednesday
in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There, a gunman walked into a
medical building and allegedly
killed four people and himself.

And in Uvalde, Texas,
funerals have begun for the
21 students and teachers

shot to death at Robb
Elementary School last week.

In a primetime speech, President
Biden addressed the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: After Columbine, after
Sandy Hook, after Charleston,
after Orlando, after Las Vegas,

after Parkland, nothing has
been done. This time, that
can't be true. This time,

we must actually do
something. For God's sake,
how much more carnage
are we willing to accept?

How many more innocent
American lives must be
taken before we say enough?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALCINDOR: Meanwhile,
a bipartisan group of
lawmakers working to
hammer out some sort of

gun reform bill say a, quote,
framework for a deal is close.

Joining me tonight to
discuss and more, Eugene
Daniels, "Playbook"
author and White House

correspondent for
"Politico", and Annie Karni,
congressional reporter
for "The New York Times".

There's so much going on. I want
to start, of course, with you,

Eugene, because there
was this primetime
speech. President Biden

laid out so many things
that he wants to see happen.
But what's the sense inside

the White House and how much the
president can really influence
Congress to pass something?

EUGENE DANIELS, WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Yeah,
what you saw yesterday was

the president talking to a
bunch of different audiences.
First was members of Congress

where he was saying these
are the things I want
to do. And this list we
heard from him when he

was heading up to the
gun task force during
the Obama administration
after Sandy Hook, talking

about a ban on assault
rifles, talking about
- - assault weapons,
talking about a registry,

talking about red flag
laws. These kinds of things
have a lot of bipartisan
support among voters.

And also more importantly,
talking to the American
people and channeling
their frustration. The

administration thinks it went
well, that the speech did
what it was supposed to do.

But the problem is and what
you did not hear was executive
action he is thinking of doing.

That's because a sense in the
White House, they have felt
the did what they can do,

and their hands are tied when
it comes to the executive
action that they have left.

They've done I think four
different haunches of executive
action on guns and safety

laws. They cannot do much
more. They are now worried
watching members of Congress

go through what we have seen
over and over again, which
is a bipartisan effort,

come together to help something
happens, and waiting on pins
and needles to see if it does.

ALCINDOR: And, Annie, the
president at one point said "I
told you what I want to do,"

and he said, the question
is, what will Congress do?

Of course, that brings
that squarely on your
beat, all eyes are on this
bipartisan lawmakers. What

more do we go, the
framework they are close
to or have settled on?
Is it going to happen?

ANNIE KARNI, CONGRESSIONAL
REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES:

It looks like something
-- people are optimistic
something is going to happen.

Senator Cornyn from Texas
made a statement saying
it would be embarrassing
if we got nothing done.

It was seen by advocates,
a lot of people watching
as a strong statement
to make, indicating that

something will happen.
Now, the question is how
modest is it going to be?
Most Democrats have been

burned so many times in
this kind of debate and
assume it will be modest,
it will not be lowering

the age to buy an assault
weapon, something modest
on background checks
and red flag laws.

But modest is also --
getting something done
to show legislation
can pass in the Senate,

there can be 60 votes and the
sky doesn't fall, and that
they can start chipping away at

the inability to do anything.
What I'm really struck by is
that there's broadly the sense

that every time one of
these tragedies happens,
nothing is going to change.

Yet among Democrats working on
the issue, activists in this
world, they are optimistic.

They take a long view and
feel something that will
look small potentially

matters quite a bit. But modest
is kind of the best hope here.

ALCINDOR: And it's really
interesting that he said,
because I remember covering

Newtown, Connecticut, and
the shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary School. I thought the

world was going to change. I now
think of that, as a decade ago,
as a naive reporter because,

of course, nothing changed. But
it does seem like you said this
time is a little different.

I do want to go to you, Eugene,
because in "Playbook" today,

you pointed out that in
February 2020, President Biden

had this gun speech hoping
to win Nevada. When he
was down and needing to
win in the primaries in

2020, he pledged he would have
gun legislation who first day
in office and it didn't happen.

Connect that February 2020
speech to the pressure the
president is feeling now.

DANIELS: Yeah, because
he made a lot of promises
in the campaign trail. We

all remember all of the
Democrats did, because
they were thinking about
how we can possibly

beat Donald Trump. We have
to get not just the base,
which is Black voters
and they're a little

bit more moderate, you have to
get liberals very excited to
vote. So, that's what he did.

He made very large promises
on what he was going to
be able to do with gun
legislation. Not knowing

he would have 50
Democratic senators to
do something, anything
on pieces of legislation.

And so, now, as you watch
different constituencies
that are really important
to the administration,

whether that is gun
control advocates, whether
that's civil rights groups
because of issues like

what happened in buffalo --
all of those different groups
are pushing and talking

to the administration
asking what are you doing?

And like I said, they have
done a lot of executive
action they feel like they
can do, but they wanted

to see the president
get out more. He hasn't
been super involved in
the negotiations on what

is happening with the
bipartisan effort, wanting
to give the senators time
and space to do that.

It's not always helpful
for a president to jump in
and try and help negotiate
on a bipartisan effort,

but that was giving advocates
a little pause about
what he was going to do.

ALCINDOR: And I want
to follow up, because
there have been more than

200 mass shootings this year.
Polling shows that Americans
over and over again say that

they are back -- they are
open to backing things like
changes in background checks.

Does the White House have
a sense it will change?
That all of this cultural
things and the polling

is kind of giving this sense
of urgency that something
will really be done?

DANIELS: I think they are
hopeful, you know what I mean?
But they just like all of us,

watched Sandy Hook happen and
nothing happened. A lot of
folks working at the White

House now or either working
for President Biden or
somewhere in the administration

at that time, so they have been
burned on this issue before.

And so, when you talk to folks
what they say is, they are
encouraged about what they see,

not thinking something
huge is going to happen.
But they hopeful that if
you look at -- you know,

you break a little crack
in the dam, and have
flooding rush in and changes

happening -- Senator
Chris Murphy who's leading
this for Democrats, he's
been telling reporters

if I can get my Republican
colleagues to realize the
world is not going to end

if we get something done
on legislation, maybe
we can do this again."

ALCINDOR: And, Annie, the
crack in the dam. I like that
metaphor because in some ways,

it is if they can get a
little thing done, it can
overflow. I'm also really
interested in asking you

about this, I was thinking
about it all day, and I
was like, can't wait to
talk to Annie about this.

And it's the House bill.
There's a bill happening.

It's going forward. What is the
point of it if we know it will
not be passed in the Senate?

KARNI: Well, I mean, it's
still important to show
support. And it -- now,
the House bill, there is a

passed bill that Senator
Schumer now has to decide
next week, like he has to
give them space to have

these negotiations. And
he has to decide like am
I going to bring up that
House bill for a vote?

Or some -- I have to bring
at some point if there is
not going to be a compromise,

I'm not going to bring a vote
and it can be a show vote.
He's had many -- you know,

Congress does this a lot. A vote
they know will fail, but it has
to show where everyone stands.

ALCINDOR: Yeah.

KARNI: So, they think, you
know, 70 percent of the country
supports background checks.

Republicans will have to stand
there and vote no for something
that has broad popular support.

So, I think it's just important
for -- you know, they wanted
-- they can -- the House

can pass a bill like that, why
wouldn't they, and then say,
it's on to you, to the Senate to

take some action? That there
is a bill waiting for them to
vote on if it comes to that.

I think next week, the real
question for Schumer will be

do we have to take a vote on
a bill that will fail, or is
this bipartisan group going to

come out with a framework?
Obviously, they'd
rather pass legislation
than have a show vote.

ALCINDOR: And another
question I had for you,
Representative Chris Jacobs

is this Republican who
represents a district
that is 10 miles from
where Buffalo, New York,

where that massacre
happened, where 10 black
people were killed.

He came out and said that he
actually was in support of a
federal assault weapons ban.

And then, now, he faced a lot
of GOP backlash and he's no
longer running for reelection.

Tell me a little bit about
what he is going through,

tell us about the
political states that
Republicans are facing.

KARNI: I mean, I think he
lasted seven days after coming
out against -- for gun control

efforts. And now, he, today,
the story broke that he is not
running for reelection anymore.

I mean, that should temper
anyone who is incredibly hopeful
right now about the party,

where the Republican Party is,
the control that the NRA still
has even in its diminished state

over Republican lawmakers.
There is no grade that's more
important to a lot of people,

there is no issue that defines
the party so much as the Second
Amendment. That just states

the feeling about
government, the feeling
about independence, and your
own rights as this issue.

So, you know, it is a cautionary
tale for anyone feeling like
-- we watched the slaughter of

schoolchildren and now, there's
going to be some big moment. And
you just look at what happened,

seven days after coming out
for gun control efforts,
he's out of the race.

DANIELS: But despite all
of the popular support
that we know all and

we talk about every time there
is one of these shootings,
there is not a lot of

political incentive
for Republicans to do
that. Obviously, he
is a perfect example.

When you talk about voters,
things like gun control
and abortion do not rise to

the levels of that, you know,
Democrats or the people who want
to see this change would want.

It's about the economy.
It's about inflation.

ALCINDOR: Well, Eugene,
you basically wrote what my
turn is to our next subject,

because it is the
economy as you just said.
Inflation is at a four

decade high, and rising prices
at grocery stores and gas
stations are hitting Americans

so hard. With six months to go
until the November elections,
the midterms of course,

the administration is trying
to shift its messaging on
inflation and the economy.

Earlier this week, the Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen admitted
on CNN that a year ago, she

was incorrect when she
said inflation would be,
quote, transitory. She
told the network, quote:

I think I was wrong then about
the path inflation would take.

All that said, there is I should
say some good news that the May

jobs report was better than
expected, despite fears
of an economic slowdown.

Joining us to discuss the state
of the economy is Amara Omeokwe.

She is an economics reporter
for "The Wall Street Journal".

Thank you so much for
being here. I want to
start off with where we

are. You're an economics
reporter. I'm so happy
you are here because

we really need an
economics reporter to
break it down for us.

Jamie Dimon is saying, who is,
of course, I should tell people,

the CEO of JPMorgan Chase.
He's saying that there's going
to be an economic hurricane.

Mothers will be able to find
baby formula. But we also have
a jobs report that looks better.

So, break down sort of where
we are in the state of the
economy and the horizon.

AMARA OMEOKWE, ECONOMICS
REPORTER, THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL: Well,
the state of the economy

is really sort of in a delicate
place, right? There are a lot
of bright spots. If you look at

where we are in the labor
market, for instance, we
had a pretty solid jobs
report today. If you

look at where household
balance sheets are, those
are some of the positive
signs in the economy.

But, of course, we have
inflation which as you mentioned
is at a four-decade high,

it is hitting families hard.
And if you look at polling data
and consumer sentiment data,

Americans are really
concerned about the higher
prices at grocery stores,

at gas pumps, like it's a big
problem for a lot of Americans.
And then you also have

the Federal Reserve which is
mounting this very aggressive
campaign to lower inflation.

They're raising interest
rates. They're shrinking the
size of their balance sheet.

They are basically trying to tap
the brakes on the economy. And
that is what is giving corporate

leaders and economists
some pause. The fear is
that the Federal Reserve
will not bring down

inflation without launching us
into a recession basically, a
really significant slowdown.

So, I think people are
hopeful that hopefully, you
know, the Federal Reserve
will be able to do it,

but there is fear amongst
some that they will not be
able to and that's sort of

a big headwind and a big
question mark for the economy
in the months to come.

ALCINDOR: And another
big question, Amara, is

what can President Biden
actually do? There have
been so many presidents,
all the way from LBJ,

to Nixon, other presidents
who tried to deal with
inflation and failed.

How much can he really
impact the economy on his
policies and his messaging?

OMEOKWE: Well, I mean, he is
trying. The administration is
trying. You saw him say that

they are going to be
engaging in this month-long
campaign to speak to
Americans about the economy,

to try and reassure Americans
have a plan to fight inflation.
If you talk to any economist,

they will say, look,
the president really
can't do much, his
administration can't do much.

Really the most powerful
player is the Fed and we
just sort of have to wait for

the Fed to make its move
and see how they work
through the system. But
at the same time from

a political standpoint, it is
impossible for the president
and his administration

to say it is the Feds
responsibility, we're not
going to do anything about it.

So, you do see them trying
to reset on your messaging.
You see him talking about

what they are trying to
do, whether it beer a
release from the energy
reserves, or trying to

push Congress to pass
some of President Biden's
economic agenda. But if
you talk to economists,

they say those things really
don't move the needle on
inflation, particularly
in the short term.

ALCINDOR: And, Annie, this
week began with President
Biden writing an op-ed in "The

Wall Street Journal", calling
on Congress to pass things like
a clean energy tax credit or

investments and tax reform.
How much is Congress
interested in what the
president is talking about?

KARNI: There is a lot going on.

ALCINDOR: I love this
answer by the way.

(CROSSTALK)

KARNI: I do think it is
interesting that Biden has spent
the week kind of tacking into,

you know, they have been trying
-- for months more optimistic
about inflation and the economy

than the reality has
been. And with Yellen

saying she was wrong and the
administration now trying to
kind of tack and not -- they

have positive economic
indicators like the job
numbers that they've
been trying to highlight,

but now, they are trying to
really show that they are taking
inflation issues more seriously.

June is going to be an
interesting month between

the Roe decision coming
out of the Supreme Court,
gun vote in Congress, the

January 6 hearings, this
is going to be a big
month for Democrats to
try and convince voters it

is not just a referendum
on the president and on
Democrats in control of
Congress, that this is a

choice election. And that
like this is a big month
where that like it will
either happen or it won't.

ALCINDOR: Yeah, I was
going to ask -- Eugene,

I want to ask about the
challenges. I want to
ask about Janet Yellen

and her saying that she is
wrong. What was going on there
because she fell on her sword?

DANIELS: Yeah, no,
absolutely. It was something
that we don't often hear

especially from this
administration, because
when you think about the
invasion becoming evident, Jen

Psaki, who is the press
secretary at the time kind of
scoffed at the idea that it

was going to stick around for
a long time. And what they kept
using and saying was that it

was going to be transitory,
which means it's not going
to be around very long.

That feels a lot different now,
right? And so, Janet Yellen
saying I was wrong on this,

that was brought up to the
current press secretary,
Karine Jean-Pierre, this week,

and basically like, were you
guys wrong or will you say
that as well? And she was like,

no, we're not. She's just kind
of moving -- you know, kind
of moving on and saying that.

But when you talk to the
American people, what they have
said is the whole time they

felt they were not taking it
seriously enough. President
Biden giving speeches,

telling people I feel your
pain, but he kept talking about
those economic indicators that

are good for this administration
or for the country. People
were not hearing that when

the milk was expensive, when
gas was going up. Now you have
this issue of infant formula not

being able to come to mothers
and not being on shelves, so
not feeling the same thing.

ALCINDOR: There are so
many challenges. Amara,

I want to get your sense
of what you thought about
Janet Yellen's comments.

And also, you told our
producers that people sort
of just feel sour right
now around the country.

So, weigh in on her statements
and how the way that people are
feeling is also part of this.

OMEOKWE: Oh, yeah, I agree
with Eugene. It was a rare
moment of candor from the

treasure secretary that
you don't often hear from
administration officials.

But I think what you also
heard her doing there
is trying to explain why

we have the inflation that
we have right now. You know,
in those same comments,

she said there were
circumstances that could
not have been foreseen

that caused supply shocks to the
economy driving the inflation
we are seeing right now.

And what I sort of heard
her saying is basically
like a pushback to the
criticism that Republicans

have been constantly launching
at this administration,
that it was their policy

that's fueled the inflation
that we're seeing right
now. What you heard her and

other administration officials
often doing is saying, look,
there are a lot of reasons

we have inflation, inflation
is a global problem. We have
the supply chain issues.

So, they are pushing back
on that -- on that criticism
from Republicans. Whether

the messaging resonates
with voters and breaks
through with voters, that
just remains to be seen.

As others in the panel
said, the administration
has been messaging on
inflation for months and

we still see that in
polling data and consumer
sentiment data, people
pretty much aren't buying

it. They feel bad about
where the economy is now,
they feel bad about the
outlook for the economy

in months to come. So, this
really is a difficult position
for the administration
to find itself in.

ALCINDOR: And, Eugene, going
back to the great point about

the challenge the White House
faces, take us a little bit
into how they're prioritizing

what are they dealing with and
just the overall mood in there
because when I talk to folks,

they sound like they are
overwhelmed, but like
this is what the White
House has to deal with.

DANIELS: Exactly. Yeah,
the mood is sour. It's
sour outside in the

country and it's sour in
the White House because
there's so much is going on.

And the biggest problem we have
been talking about the entire

show is there is not much the
White House can do for some
of these issues, on inflation,

on guns, on some of these
things that the American
people want them to do.

There's not much for
them to do. So, it feels
like they have to --

ALCINDOR: And they also said
-- I should also say that
aides also said that they

didn't tell President Biden
about the baby formula issue
until April. They are also

walking back some of his
statements on Taiwan.
There's sort of this
frustration it seems like.

DANIELS: Yeah. There's
like a flurry of what
seems like missteps, right,
especially talking to the

administration and asking
why the president was not
briefed on baby infant
formula when the people

who make it new that the closing
of the Abbott facility was going
to be an issue immediately.

Why didn't he know? And that
is one of the many things
that they are dealing with.

And it is -- you know, White
Houses are hard. Running of
the country is very difficult,

and at a time when people are
feeling how they are feeling,

this administration feels
like they don't have a lot
of things that they can do,

but are pushing forward,
talked about chewing gum and
walking at the same time.

ALCINDOR: Yeah. Well, a lot
of challenges to deal with.

Thank you so much to
Amara, Eugene, and Annie,
for joining us and for
sharing your reporting.

We'll continue our conversation
on "The Washington Week
Extra". This week's topic:

the January 6 Committee
hearings. Find it on our
website, Facebook, and YouTube.

And on Saturday, on PBS
News Weekend, Geoff Bennett
looks at mass shootings

and gun violence in America
and what can be done to
curb this growing problem.

Thank you for joining us.
I'm Yamiche Alcindor. Good
night from Washington.