OnPolitics: Tuesday night’s primaries show Trump’s lacking influence

Happy Wednesday, OnPolitics readers!

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he supports the gun reform framework put forth by a bipartisan group of senators, presaging what could be the most significant gun control legislation in three decades.

“I’m comfortable with the framework, and if the legislation ends up reflecting what the framework indicates, I’ll be supportive,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill, calling recent school shootings “horrible.”

Talks led by Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn Cornyn and Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. resulted in the bipartisan deal to address America’s gun violence epidemic — the first breakthrough on gun reform in 30 years, according to Murphy.

What’s in the deal? The bipartisan framework deal includes support for state crisis intervention, investment in children and family mental health services and penalties for straw purchasing. It also includes protections for domestic violence victims, clarification on the definition of a federally licensed firearms dealer and funding for school safety resources and school-based mental health services.

It’s Amy and Chelsey with today’s top stories out of Washington.

Takeaways on primaries in South Carolina, Nevada and more

Races stretching from Maine and South Carolina to Nevada and North Dakota on Tuesday tested former President Donald Trump’s influence not just on the Republican Party but also on the way Americans regard voting and elections.

Her efforts appeared to have paid off: On Tuesday night, Mace defeated her Trump-endorsed challenger Katie Arrington in the GOP primary.

For a full recap of last night’s races, read more here.

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Real Quick: stories you’ll want to read

• Biden tells oil companies to cut costs: Biden is pressuring oil producers to lower prices for American consumers as gas prices exceed $5 a gallon is some parts of the country.
• Golf league shines light on Saudi Arabia: The country’s government is known for its human rights abuses, which have come to the forefront after its decision to fund a new LIV golf league.
• Barr’s complicated relationship with Trump: Former attorney general Bill Barr was known to do favors for Trump, which made his anti-election fraud testimony during the Jan. 6 committee hearing appear uncharacteristic.
• ‘Biden blood only’: Kathleen Buhle, ex-wife of Biden’s son Hunter Biden, describes sometimes feeling alienated from the Biden family in a new memoir.

charged with federal hate crimes, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Authorities say Payton Gendron, 18, specifically targeted Black people in the May 14 assault. The 26-count complaint includes 10 murder charges, making Gendron eligible for a death sentence if convicted.

A rifle marked with racial slurs, the names of other mass shooters, and other statements, including “Here’s your reparations!” was recovered at the scene of the shooting. 

Federal investigators also recovered a handwritten note from Gendron’s Conklin, New York, home the day after the shooting in which he allegedly apologized to his family and said his actions were “for the future of the white race.”

Authorities also discovered evidence that Gendron surveilled and began plans to attack the grocery store months before the massacre.

The zip code where the market is located contains the largest percentage of Black people close to Gendron’s home.

DACA is 10 years old: The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act is one of the most successful immigration programs ever. Bt advocates say that could end soon. — Amy and Chelsey

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