Ryan: Obama ‘subverting’ Congress with gun actions

President Obama will be “subverting” Congress by taking executive action on gun control, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Monday.

The Speaker warned of a “dangerous level of executive overreach” by the president.

{mosads}“While we don’t yet know the details of the plan, the president is at minimum subverting the legislative branch, and potentially overturning its will,” Ryan said in a statement.

“His proposals to restrict gun rights were debated by the United States Senate, and they were rejected,” Ryan continued. “No president should be able to reverse legislative failure by executive fiat, not even incrementally.”

Obama will meet with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday to discuss ways in which the administration could implement new gun restrictions. The new steps, which could be announced on Tuesday, could include a requirement for more gun dealers to conduct background checks.

Democrats attempted to push an expansion of background checks through Congress in 2013, but Republicans blocked it.

The president’s proposal to unilaterally expand background checks comes after a string of mass shootings across the country. Gun control supporters say that expanding background checks by any means will help keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.

Republicans say more gun control is not the answer and warn that Obama is poised to trample on the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. 

“We all are pained by the recent atrocities in our country, but no change the president is reportedly considering would have prevented them,” Ryan said.