Potential Republican candidate Chris Christie vows to never support Trump again – live

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Republicans in North Carolina today repealed a requirement for permits when buying pistols, overriding a veto from the Democratic governor, Roy Cooper.

The move came two days after a shooter in neighbouring Tennessee carried a pistol and two automatic weapons into a Christian school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults before being killed by police.

According to the Associated Press, the North Carolina House “voted 71-46 to enact over Cooper’s objections [and] to eliminate the state’s long-standing pistol handgun purchase system, which requires in part for sheriffs to perform character evaluations of gun applicants. The Senate voted to override the veto on Tuesday.

“Cooper and Democrats warned the repeal would allow more dangerous people to obtain weapons through private sales, which do not require a background check, and limit law enforcement’s ability to prevent them from committing violent crimes.

“The enacted bill also would allow guns on some school properties where religious services are held.”

The AP also reports that three House Democrats failed to vote on the veto override, thereby enabling Republicans to meet the constitutional requirement.

Here’s Ed Pilkington, meanwhile, on what the Nashville shooting has revealed about America’s love for military grade weapons:

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will face Bernie Sanders today in a union-busting hearing.

The hearing committee is chaired by Democratic Vermont senator Bernie Sanders who has been one of Schultz’s harshest critics.

The committee has accused Schultz of running “the most significant union-busting campaign in modern history.”

A report by the committee’s majority staff found that Starbucks violated labor practice laws 130 times in six states and is facing another 70 cases.

According to the report, Starbucks has fired workers in retaliation for union organizing, shut down stores and withheld pay and benefits.

“There is mounting evidence that the $113bn company’s anti-union efforts include a pattern of flagrant violations of federal labor law,” the report said.

“Starbucks has engaged in the most significant union-busting campaign in modern history. It has been led by Howard Schultz,” it added.

Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz arrives at a crowded Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing room where he expects to face sharp questioning about the company's actions during an ongoing unionizing campaign, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Republican senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said that enough has been done about gun control, following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee earlier this month.

In an interview with CNN, Rounds said, “I think the things that have already been done have gone about as far as we’re going to with gun control.”

Rounds went on to propose reallocating $500 million for solar panels in schools to increased security instead so the schools could be “more difficult to get into.”

Chris Christie promises to never support Donald Trump again

The former governor of New Jersey has vowed to never pledge his allegiance again to Donald Trump, even if the former president wins the GOP nomination again.

In a statement to Axios published on Wednesday, Christie, who previously supported Trump in the 2016 election, said, “I can’t help him. No way.”

Christie went to condemn Trump for showing a video at his rally of the January 6 choir by those who were arrested at the deadly riots.

“When you have the Jan. 6 choir at a rally and you show video of it — I just don’t think that person is appropriate for the presidency,” he said.

Although Christie has not yet revealed whether he will run for president, he has issued stern criticisms not only towards Trump but also to president Joe Biden.

“I can’t imagine myself voting for Joe Biden, either. I don’t know if I can vote for either of these guys. They’re both too old. They’re both out of touch with what’s going on in the world right now,” he said.

Potential GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie vows to never support Donald Trump again

Good morning, US politics readers. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie has vowed to never throw his support behind presidential candidate Donald Trump again, even if he wins the GOP nomination.

On Wednesday, Axios reported Christie, who pledged his allegiance to Trump during the 2016 presidential election, saying: “I can’t help him. No way.”

“Look, I just can’t … When you have the Jan. 6 choir at a rally and you show video of it – I just don’t think that person is appropriate for the presidency,” he added.

Earlier this week, Christie spoke at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire and said that Trump’s “end will not be a calm and quiet conclusion”.

So far, only a few prominent Republicans have joined in on the race to challenge Trump, including former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Others potential candidates include Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence.

As we bring you the latest on today’s US politics, here are other key developments and events to expect today:

• The FBI and US Marshals are each offering $10,000 for any information that can lead to the capture of Roy McGrath, ex-chief of staff to former Maryland governor Larry Hogan who is on the run from wire fraud and embezzlement charges.

• Joe Biden will host the virtual Summit for Democracy later this morning with world leaders, as well as representatives from the private and public sectors.

• The Biden administration will hold an oil and gas drilling rights auction of a large area in the US Gulf of Mexico today that spans the size of Italy.