CNN: President Obama will announce executive action on guns in the new year

President Obama will start the new year by taking executive action on guns, CNN reports.

Described as "imminent," the set of executive actions would fulfill a promise by the President to take further unilateral steps the White House says could help curb gun deaths. […]

The White House wouldn't comment directly on the exact timing or content of Obama's executive orders. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said that the President expected a set of recommendations on unilateral action to arrive at the beginning of the year.

He said Obama was "expressing urgency" for a list of steps he can take on his own after high-profile incidents of gun violence at the end of this year.

"It is complicated. That's why it's taken some time for our policy folks, our lawyers, and our expects to work through this and see what's possible," Schultz said.

Gun control advocates expect the announcement to come before the State of the Union address scheduled for January 12, CNN reports. White House officials and those advocates say the actions will focus on the gun show loophole in which sellers can avoid conducting background checks on buyers. While Congress would need to pass legislation to make background checks universal, the White House says that the regulations could be expanded under existing law to include gun show sellers in the covered category.

In addition to limiting the background check loophole, Obama's actions will likely include new funding for federal agencies that enforce existing gun laws.