In Today’s Times:
The embers are all that remain of a push to expand gun control laws after the Senate defeated several amendments on Wednesday, leaving Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, to postpone debate on the bill on Thursday, Jonathan Weisman reports.
Jennifer Steinhauer posits that the gun measures never really stood a chance of turning the tide on Capitol Hill in favor of gun control, despite tearful pleas from the families of the Newtown, Conn., shooting victims and a full-throated push from President Obama and allied Democrats.
Opponents of a proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws are taking to the radio airwaves to stir up opposition to a bill introduced Wednesday, Michael D. Shear and Jennifer Preston write. Hearings on the legislation are set to begin Friday with supporters hoping to wrap up the bill by June.
Nerves in Washington can begin to settle after a Mississippi man was arrested on suspicion that he sent letters containing the poison ricin to the White House and Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, Mark Landler and Ashley Parker write. The arrest of the man, Paul Kevin Curtis, came after parts of two Senate office buildings were briefly shut down as officials investigated reports of suspicious letters or packages.
Happening in Washington:
Economic reports scheduled to be released Thursday include weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by leading indicators and weekly mortgage rates.
Secretary of State John Kerry returns to Capitol Hill for another day of hearings, this time before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 9:30 a.m. and a Senate Appropriations subcommittee at 2:30 p.m.
At 9:45 a.m., the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet to consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the secretary of energy. A budget hearing with the agency’s deputy secretary will follow.
Thomas E. Perez, President Obama’s pick to be the secretary of labor, faces lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when they examine his nomination at 10 a.m.
Also at 10 a.m., James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, and Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, will discuss worldwide threats before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Other administration officials testifying at hearings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday include Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security (9 a.m.); Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. (10 a.m.); Michael P. Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (10 a.m.); Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (10:30 a.m.).
After attending an interfaith service in Boston for the victims of Monday’s bombings, President Obama will return to Washington for a reception in honor of Greek Independence Day. The ceremony starts at 5:30 p.m. at the White House.
