McConaughey spent the opening minutes of the briefing talking about those who died, saying he needed to tell their stories to show how action needed to be taken to honor the lives of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last month in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.
“We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before. A window where it seems like real change, real change can happen,” McConaughey said from the podium.
McConaughey said, “I’m here today in the hopes of applying what energy, reason and passion that I have into trying to turn this moment into a reality. Because as I said, this moment is different.”
The White House said McConaughey would join White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Tuesday’s briefing and deliver remarks.
McConaughey told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday he hoped he was making progress in his meetings with lawmakers. He had left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was heading to another meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
While the odds of any sweeping reforms remain very steep, lawmakers have expressed optimism that a deal for narrow and targeted bill could be reached as soon as the end of this week. Jean-Pierre said Monday Biden was “encouraged” by the Senate negotiations on gun control measures.