"It's time for Congress to get off its ass and do something"

Plus: Giffords' message to Congress No Images? Click here         After Deadly Mass Shooting, White House Says It’s ‘Premature’ To Discuss Guns Following the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, President Donald Trump on Monday offered his sympathy to the victims, but made no mention of America’s pervasive gun violence either in his tweets or his prepared statement from the White House. More than 50 were dead and hundreds more injured after Stephen Paddock, 64, began shooting at the thousands of attendees of the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel in Las Vegas. When police breached his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel, they said they found Paddock dead of an apparent self-inflicted wound. He had at least 10 guns, they added. Some hours after his tweet Monday morning, Trump read prepared remarks from the White House, called the shooting “an act of pure evil” and commended first responders and local officials. Not mentioned in statements from Trump and the White House: the issue of guns. When asked at Monday’s White House press briefing whether Trump would consider gun reforms in response to the shooting, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was not appropriate to discuss the matter. “There’s a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country,” Sanders said, before offering her “thoughts and prayers.” READ MORE     WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wasted no time responding to the Las Vegas shooting, saying "it's time for Congress to get off its ass and do something." Murphy made gun control his cause after the 2012 attack by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in his home state READ MORE It's completely legal to walk around Las Vegas with a machine gun. Nevada’s lax gun laws are pretty much the norm in the U.S. READ MORE Gabby Giffords to Congress: "The nation's counting on you" to act on gun violence. For years, the former Arizona congresswoman and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, have been speaking out for gun control. READ MORE         ICYMI Trump dedicated a golf trophy to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico. A person at the ceremony yelled, “You don’t give a shit about Puerto Rico!” according to reporters at the event.    Ohio Gov. John Kasich hinted he may need to leave the GOP. “If the party can’t be fixed, Jake, then I’m not going to be able to support the party, period,” he told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union,” a few minutes after he noted that Americans seem more eager to hear from independent candidates than ever before.   Republicans admitted tax reform won't benefit all middle-class households. The GOP plan would still overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, and could actually mean a tax increase for some Americans with average incomes.       Want more?  Hillary Clinton On Las Vegas Shooting: ‘We Must Stand Up To The NRA’   Health Insurance For 9 Million Kids On The Line As Congress Fails To Meet Deadline   Gun Stocks Climb After Las Vegas Shooting   How will Trump’s administration impact you? Sign up for our email and find out. Did a friend send you this? Subscribe here. Like what you see? Share it. Want more? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: The Morning Email and Must Reads. ©2017 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe   - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe