Matthew McConaughey to join White House briefing after holding meetings with lawmakers on gun reform

2 weeks ago

McConaughey is a native of Uvalde, Texas, and has been outspoken about the need to curb gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting in his hometown that killed 19 students and two teachers. He has described gun violence as an “epidemic we can control.”

The White House said McConaughey would join White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Tuesday’s briefing and deliver remarks.

The Academy Award-winning star of “Dallas Buyers Club” publicly weighed a run for governor in Texas last year but ultimately ruled one out — for now. He said it was “a path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”

McConaughey told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday he hoped he was making progress in his meetings with lawmakers. He had left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was heading to another meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

The President earlier on Tuesday met with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who is leading bipartisan negotiations on gun reform. Murphy told reporters at the White House he met with the President for about half an hour and spoke about the outlines of the ongoing gun reform negotiations. Murphy emphasized how much he appreciated Biden and the White House giving senators “space” to try and reach a deal, and said his goal remains to reach a deal by the end of this week.

While the odds of any sweeping reforms remain very steep, lawmakers have expressed optimism that a deal for narrow and targeted bill could be reached as soon as the end of this week. Jean-Pierre said Monday Biden was “encouraged” by the Senate negotiations on gun control measures.

The President delivered an impassioned speech from the White House after the mass shooting at the Uvalde elementary school last month and ratcheted up the pressure on Congress to act. He has called on Congress to implement stricter gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase.

CNN’s Phil Mattingly and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.

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