Politics Briefly

The top two Democrats in Congress, seeking to ramp up pressure on Republicans to pass legislation extending background checks to all gun buyers, told President Donald Trump on Sunday that they would join him at the White House for a "historic signing ceremony at the Rose Garden" if he agreed to the measure. The offer, made by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, during an 11-minute phone conversation with Trump comes as the president is considering a package of measures to respond to recent mass shootings. The three spoke only about gun legislation, according to aides. Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said in a statement that the conversation was cordial but that Trump "made no ­commitments."

Joe Walsh, one of Donald Trump's GOP challengers, said he's running against the "bigotry and cruelty" of the president, not necessarily his policies. "We've got a king and a dictator in the White House," Walsh said on MSNBC. "It's a referendum on Trump," a man he said "lies virtually every time he opens his mouth." The former Illinois congressman said he believes in strong national borders but welcomes those who want to enter the U.S. legally. He said outspoken Trump critic George Conway, a lawyer, is "one of our greatest patriots," and he hopes to win his support. Conway's wife, Kellyanne, is a counselor to Trump and defends him in public, even as her husband questions the president's mental health.

Rep. Ilhan Omar said it's a matter of when, not if, President Trump will be impeached, and she's not worried about House Speaker Pelosi and others not moving ahead right now. "It is OK for some people to have hesitations, for other people to catch up to where some of us have been for a very long time," the first-term Democrat from Minnesota said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," billed as her first one-on-one network interview.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign is changing who will lead his presidential effort in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire. The Sanders campaign confirmed that Joe Caiazzo, the campaign's state director since March, is leaving the position. He will take on the role of Sanders' state director in Massachusetts. Caiazzo is being replaced by Shannon Jackson, a longtime aide to the senator. Sanders has struggled this cycle to maintain the level of support that helped him to a 22-point victory in the 2016 New Hampshire primary.