Post Politics Now: Senate negotiators key to whether Congress moves on gun measures

Today, President Biden pointed to a new report showing the U.S. economy added jobs at a solid pace in May to argue that the country is well-positioned to tackle inflation, which he acknowledged remains a real concern for American families. It has also been a major liability for him.

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Speaking from Rehoboth Beach, Del., Biden said he sees “a future of stable, steady growth so we can bring down inflation without sacrificing all the historic gains we’ve made.” Biden’s comments followed the release of a Labor Department report that showed the U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May, a strong showing after a year of blockbuster growth. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent, the Labor Department said.

Meanwhile, former Trump White House official Peter Navarro has been indicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department announced Friday.

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Insight: Inflation, bid for tighter gun laws dominate Biden’s week

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President Biden started his abbreviated week with a new push to defend his handling of inflation and ended it with a rare evening address, urging Congress to act on gun control.

On Tuesday, the president met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand before hosting Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, in the Oval Office. The meeting was part of an effort by the White House to deal with rising prices. Biden also met with BTS, the global K-pop phenomenon, to raise awareness of the prevalence of anti-Asian discrimination.

Biden also sought to respond to the continued shortage of baby formula, hosting a virtual meeting with company executives to hear about the progress of his administration’s efforts to bolster the supply. The administration announced new airlifts of baby formula from Europe and Australia.

On Thursday, the president changed his schedule — delaying his departure to Rehoboth Beach, Del. — to deliver an evening address from the White House in which he called on lawmakers to take swift action to tighten gun limits. In his most extended comments since a spate of recent mass shootings, including at a school in Uvalde, Tex., Biden called for sweeping action to curb gun violence, including banning assault weapons and limiting high-capacity magazines. His calls are unlikely to translate into new laws, as the small, bipartisan group of senators working on a compromise bill has signaled a much narrower set of policies.

“After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done,” Biden said, reeling off a list of places where mass killings occurred. “This time, that can’t be true. This time we must actually do something.”