WASHINGTON _ House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday the House will proceed with a vote on a counter-terrorism and gun control package but declined to say when, given defections from the conservative wing of his party and outright opposition from Democrats.
"We're going to do it when we're ready and we're going to do it in a good amount of time," Ryan said at a news conference Wednesday.
Late Tuesday night, the House Freedom Caucus voted to oppose the GOP counter-terrorism package in its current form, citing a variety of concerns including the fact that the bill did not go through the regular committee process.
Rep. Matt Salmon said Wednesday he expects most Freedom Caucus members to vote against the bill if it doesn't go back through committee.
Earlier Tuesday, two leading Democrats met with Ryan privately but reached no consensus on how to proceed on the measure, which Democrats say would do little to keep terrorists from buying guns.
In the wake of terrorist attacks in Orlando and Istanbul, GOP leadership introduced the counter-terrorism bill late last week and planned to move onto the floor this week. A House Rules Committee meeting to consider amendments to the bill was postponed Tuesday and has not been rescheduled.
Ryan said Wednesday the GOP's bill is common sense because it requires the government to prioritize counter-terrorism efforts and to make sure guns don't fall into the hands of terror suspects.
"There isn't a person in Congress that wants a terrorist to get a gun," Ryan said, but added that Republicans also don't want to undermine ongoing terrorism investigations.
"We are not going to actually pass legislation that infringes upon a person's constitutional rights," Ryan added, citing the Second and Fifth amendments.
