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During the White House press briefing on Monday, spokesman Josh Earnest addressed rumors about a new executive order that would impose further restrictions on U.S. gun sales and ownership.
He said that Americans can expect to hear details from the President regarding such an action “quite soon.”
“I would anticipate that the President will have an announcement quite soon,” said Earnest, “where he will discuss some steps that his administration and that he has concluded are within his executive authority that would keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them."
The White House spokesman went on to blame Congress and its “failure to act” for gun deaths in America.
“There are commonsense steps that [Obama] can take under his authority that will not undermine the constitutional rights of law abiding Americans," said Earnest. "But we have to do something in this country to address the consequences of Congress’s failure to act."
“Look, there are more than 30,000 Americans who die every year as a result of a gun,” he added.
Watch Earnest’s remarks begin here and the full press briefing below.
In an interview on CNN Monday morning, GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump criticized President Obama for abusing his executive power to bypass Congress on the issue of gun control.
He argued that the President is taking "steps" to eliminate the Second Amendment altogether.