‘We need to do better’: A shaken Washington struggles to come together after Kirk’s death

In a Washington still reeling from the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk, Republicans and Democrats are deeply splintered and fearful that violent threats to political figures will be a regular feature of the country’s bleak new normal.

In the 24 hours since Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump, who announced the death of a man he said he loved and admired, has pointed fingers at liberals. And down Pennsylvania Avenue, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have found it extraordinarily difficult to unite to turn down the temperature of political discourse, even as party leaders broadly urged it.

The blame, recriminations and heightened concern from both parties underscores a particularly tense and bitter point in American politics.

“You gotta find a way,” GOP Rep. Stephanie Bice of Ok