Zach Schermele

You know, in the hours immediately following the incident,

We saw, you know, accusations from the Department of Homeland Security that Alex Pretty was a domestic terrorist.

There was criticism even from the president that Pretty was carrying a gun, which he had a permit to conceal and carry.

And so that has enraged Second Amendment groups that are aligned with Republicans.

in Congress who are concerned and want a full investigation into this incident.

And I think that is part of the reason why the White House and GOP leaders in Congress have demonstrated more of a willingness to negotiate with Senate Democrats about how to move forward here.

You know, I have to think about once more Susan Collins, that Republican senator from Maine, who is, I think, in perhaps one of the most challenging situations of this entire election.

controversy.

So that I think demonstrates some of the difficult positions that Republican senators are being put in.

She is the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

She's also a representative of Maine, which is the latest state that is being targeted by an immigration enforcement surge.

And she's running for reelection.

And, you know, so she's having to balance all of those considerations in a way that I think is making her more amenable to working with Democrats on this.

And she certainly was saying as much in the hours in the immediate aftermath of Freddie's killing.

And Democrats also want to show that immigration is an issue.

that they can win on in November.

And it's been fascinating to see just how animating the response to Preti's killing has been across the country for the Democratic base.

Yeah, you know, conservative hardliners are not happy about what they see as wasteful spending in a lot of the appropriations bills.

Remember, the appropriations bills reinstate and, in fact, even go further in funding many programs and agencies that the Trump administration has already tried to cut.

And so, you know, there are going to be some some hardliners that try and vote against