1. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest walks into briefing room
2. SOUNDBITE (English): Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary:
"I would anticipate that the president will have an announcement quite soon where he will discuss some steps that his administration has concluded and that he has concluded are within his executive authority that would keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. And there are common sense steps that he can take, using his authority, that do not undermine the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans, but we have to do something in this country to address the consequences of Congress' failure to act. And look, there are more than 30,000 Americans who die every year as a result of a gun."
3. Reporter asking question
4. SOUNDBITE (English): Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary:
"The -- part of the work, a lot of the work that has gone on behind the scenes to take a look at what the president can do using his executive authority has been grounded in the knowledge that the gun lobby and Republicans in Congress who regularly do their bidding, are going to look for ways to stop it. And we know they are likely to try and pursue a creative legal theory to prevent their -- the implementation of these rules. And that's why the president once to be sure that the recommendations he has received and the executive actions that he carries out are going to stand up in a court of law."
5. Reporters listening to Earnest
6 . SOUNDBITE (English): Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary:
"We should not be distracted however, from the fact that the reason the president is taking these actions is because Congress has utterly failed in their responsibility to do so. Congress, time and again, has had multiple opportunities to take action that would make it harder for the wrong hands to get a hold of guns."
President Barack Obama is slated Monday to finalize a set of new executive actions tightening the nation's gun laws, making his first order of business in 2016 a clear signal the president in his final year doesn't intend to go quietly.
At a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and other top law enforcement officials Obama is expected to sign off on a package of proposals aimed at curbing gun violence and cracking down on unregulated gun sales.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that Congress has "utterly failed" to take action on new gun measures.
