Trump focuses on first responders after Florida shooting

President Donald Trump has made a grim trip to a Florida community reeling from a deadly school shooting, meeting privately with victims and cheering the heroics of first responders.

President Donald Trump pauses as he arrives to speak about the mass shooting at a South Florida High School from the White House, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

But he extended few public words of consolation to those in deep mourning, nor did Trump address the debate over gun violence that has raged since a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 and injured 14 others.

Two days after the shooting, Trump visited Broward Health North Hospital Friday, where he saw two victims and praised the doctors and nurses for their "incredible" job. With his wife Melania, he also paid his respects to law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale, telling officers he hoped they were "getting the credit" they deserved.

"I was at the hospital with a lot of parents and they are really thankful for the job you've done," Trump said at the Broward County Sheriff's Office, where he was joined by Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio and other Florida officials. He added that the young victims were in "really great shape" considering what they have been through.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Room at the White House, in Washington, Thursday, Feb 15, 2018, about the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In a tweet Saturday, he said that he and the first lady "met such incredible people last night in Broward County, Florida. Will never forget them, or the evening!" The president later placed calls of condolence and support to Parkland's mayor, a Broward County commissioner and the school's principal.

Trump did allude to gun laws in a different tweet Saturday, accusing congressional Democrats of not favoring new gun laws: "Just like they don't want to solve the DACA problem, why didn't the Democrats pass gun control legislation when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration. Because they didn't want to, and now they just talk!"

Never a natural at consolation, the president seemed more at ease extending hearty thanks to first responders, marveling at the speed with which they rushed the wounded to the hospital and quipping that they deserved a raise. He had less to say to the grief and sorrow gripping a shocked community and nation after the deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Asked if he'd talked with victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Trump added: "I did indeed, and it's very sad something like that could happen."

Trump spoke privately with two victims, a boy and a girl, at the hospital. At the Sheriff's Office, he also met Detective Richard Olson and his son, Will Olson, who was shot during the attack. Trump spoke about the girl he met with, saying she had been shot four times, and that first responders had helped save her life by getting her quickly to the hospital.

President Donald Trump, center, accompanied by and first lady Melania Trump, right, and Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, left, speak to reporters while visiting with medical staff at Broward Health North in Pompano Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, following Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Late Friday, he tweeted about the school shooting: "Our entire Nation, w/one heavy heart, continues to pray for the victims & their families in Parkland, FL. To teachers, law enforcement, first responders & medical professionals who responded so bravely in the face of danger: We THANK YOU for your courage!" He included pictures of the injured young girl and her family that he and the first lady visited.

Speaking directly to the raw emotions was Rubio, who told Trump, "This is a community and a state that's in deep pain and they want action to make sure this never happens again."

Trump replied: "You can count on it."

Still, the president made no policy statements. An avid supporter of the National Rifle Association, he did not mention the renewed debate over gun violence, ignoring a shouted question about gun laws. Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he was "working with Congress on many fronts," though he offered no details.

President Donald Trump, accompanied by Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, left, speaks while meeting with law enforcement officers at Broward County Sheriff's Office in Pompano Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, following Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Trump said he originally planned to visit the Parkland area on Sunday or Monday, but decided he didn't want to wait. But as Trump arrived in Florida, some of the parents, survivors and others affected by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School said they were more interested in firm action to prevent future assaults than a presidential visit.

"I don't want Trump to come, but we want more gun safety," said 18-year-old Kevin Trejos, a senior at the school. "It's a dream. It hasn't hit me yet. When I see empty desks, I'll feel it. I'm numb now."

More than 1,000 people had attended a candlelight vigil Thursday night near the school, and at one point some began chanting, "No more guns! No more guns!"

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota Senate ethics panel on Tuesday is expected to begin considering what to do with a lawmaker who's charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into her estranged stepmother's house.

Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, told police she broke in last month because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony complaint. Her attorney has said she deserves due process and won’t resign.

Mitchell's status has posed a dilemma for her fellow Democrats because they hold a one-seat majority in the Senate, so they need her vote to pass anything that lacks bipartisan support. They have excluded her from caucus meetings and taken her off her committees but have not publicly asked her to quit.

Mitchell resumed voting last week on the Senate floor, even on votes that affect her fate. Senate Republicans forced hours of debate on unsuccessful attempts to remove her, slowing the pace of legislation as the May 20 adjournment deadline nears.

The Senate GOP complaint alleges her actions “betray the public trust and bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, who has called on Mitchell to resign, told reporters last week that she deserves due process in court. But, he said, the Senate should hold legislators to a higher standard, even if it's politically difficult. He said it's not right for Democrats to protect her because they need her vote.

“This is a serious charge and I hope the ethics committee takes this very seriously,” Johnson said.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, told reporters last week that their caucus has not asked Mitchell to resign.

“We don't know all the facts of this matter. It is both a serious matter and for many of us a heartbreaking matter," Murphy told reporters. "Sen. Mitchell is entitled to due process both here in the ethics subcommittee and in the court of law. And she has hard and serious conversations that she needs to have with her family and her constituents.”

Johnson said he expects the panel will discuss whether there’s probable cause to investigate further. He said he expects they’ll go over police reports, her comments on social media and an interview that the stepmother gave to KSTP-TV in which she said she is fearful of Mitchell and disputing the senator's assertion she was there to check on her well-being. But there will likely not be a decision on her fate Tuesday, Johnson said.

The ethics panel is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. If it doesn't deadlock in a tie, it could ultimately recommend anything from a reprimand to expulsion.

No Senate seats would normally be on the ballot this November. But the state chairman of the Democratic Party in Minnesota, Ken Martin, said recently that he'd like for Mitchell to resign by June 8 so that her seat could be filled in a special election on election day. Mitchell represents a mostly Democratic suburban St. Paul district that would be easier for Democrats to hold if it's on the November ballot when turnout should be high.

Mitchell’s next court date is set for June 10.

Before the ethics panel considers Mitchell's case, it's expected to consider a long dormant complaint filed by Democrats last year against Republican Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, of Glencoe. He sent an email to colleagues during a debate over trans rights in the 2023 session that included a link to a medical school video showing gender-transition surgery. It included a note saying it documented “mutilating transgender surgeries on minor children. Extremely graphic and disturbing.”

Minnesota Senate Democratic Majority Leader Erin Murphy talks with reporters on the Senate floor in the Minnesota State Capitol after a Republican attempt to expedite an ethics investigation of Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who's facing a felony burglary charge, failed on a tie vote, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Minnesota Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson talks with reporters on the Senate floor in the Minnesota State Capitol after a Republican attempt to expedite an ethics investigation of Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who's facing a felony burglary charge, failed on a tie vote, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski).

Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury who faces an ethics hearing Tuesday stemming from her arrest on a felony burglary charge, gets up to leave from her desk on the Senate floor in the State Capitol in St. Paul, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Mitchell told police she broke in last month because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury who faces an ethics hearing Tuesday stemming from her arrest on a felony burglary charge, is shown seated at her desk on the Senate floor in the State Capitol in St. Paul, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Mitchell told police she broke in last month because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)