WASHINGTON, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a longtime proponent of an assault weapons ban, said on Tuesday evening that she is likely to become the new head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Keep tuned, I think it'll happen," she told reporters.
Feinstein is in line to succeed current Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who is expected to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee after Monday’s death of Sen. Daniel Inouye.
Feinstein said earlier this week that she intended to introduce a bill stopping the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of assault weapons as well as large ammunition magazines, strips and drums that hold more than 10 rounds on the first day of the new Congress.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney said earlier on Tuesday US President Barack Obama supported Feinstein’s initiative.
"He is actively supportive of, for example, Sen. Feinstein’s stated intent to revive a piece of legislation that would reinstate the assault weapons ban," Carney said during a press briefing.
"He supports and would support legislation that addresses the problem of the so-called gun show loophole, and there are other elements of gun legislation that he could support … high capacity ammunition clips, for example. That is certainly something he would be interested in looking at," he added.
The gun control debate in the US intensified after a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut took the lives of 20 young children and six adults.
