President Barack Obama embraces a man while honoring shooting victim’s families during a visit to the University of Hartford, in Hartford, Conn., Monday. Obama visited the school to highlight gun control legislation and to meet with the families of victims from the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings.WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda will be robustly tested this week, with gun control and immigration in the spotlight on Capitol Hill and the White House releasing his long-delayed budget blueprint. In a taste of what lies ahead, Democratic gun legislation arrived on the Senate floor Monday – facing an aggressive Republican effort to block it.
In an era of deep partisanship and divided government, Obama knows he won’t get everything he wants on the three big issues as he seeks to capitalize on the national support that brought him re-election. But the scope of his victories or defeats on these issues will in part define his legacy and determine how much political capital he retains for his final four years in office.
“This is his best chance to set up the next 3 1/2 years where he’s the pace car,” said Sara Taylor Fagen, who served as political director for President George W. Bush.
But much of what happens during this pivotal period is out of the president’s direct control. Members of Congress will largely determine whether his proposals to deal with gun ownership, revamp broken immigration laws and reduce the federal budget deficit gain traction.
Lawmakers, back in Washington after a two-week recess, are expected to take significant steps on some of the issues this week. A bipartisan group of senators could unveil highly anticipated immigration legislation by the end of the week. And Democrats brought a gun-control bill to the Senate floor Monday afternoon amid a threat from conservative Republicans to use delaying tactics to prevent formal debate from even beginning.