Transition of power from
Transitioning into
Transition of power
Prom
Backed by
An official from the gun group N.R.A. stated in a letter that President Trump no longer has confidence in the organization. The letter emphasized the need for the N.R.A. to regain trust with Trump and his close advisors.
Written by Danny Hakim
A high-ranking official at the National Rifle Association stated that President-elect Donald J. Trump no longer has confidence in the organization. The official believes that the NRA must regroup in order to support the Republican Party’s advantage in Congress for the 2026 midterm elections.
During a meeting with fellow board members, Bill Bachenberg, the group’s first vice president and a supporter of Trump, mentioned that Trump was disappointed that the NRA had not done more to support him during the election. Bachenberg also stated that Trump was surprised to learn that the NRA was paying millions of dollars annually to lawyer William A. Brewer III, who has historically donated to Democratic candidates. This conversation took place at the group’s annual conference in May.
In a letter written by Mr. Bachenberg and co-signed by Mark Vaughan, they stated that President Trump and his closest advisors no longer trust the N.R.A. They mentioned that they have ongoing communication with them and there is a lot of effort needed to regain their trust, as well as the trust of N.R.A. members and donors.
When asked for a response, Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, gave a general statement. She said that President Trump believes that all Americans have a natural right to protect themselves and their loved ones, and he will support law-abiding gun owners.
The recent letter shows that the N.R.A.’s political power has decreased. It used to be a strong lobbying force in Washington, but scandals and corruption accusations have weakened it. The organization is now split between supporters of former CEO Wayne LaPierre and another group, led by Mr. Bachenberg, who want to move away from LaPierre’s controversial leadership.
The new CEO of the N.R.A., Doug Hamlin, mentioned in a statement that due to the organization’s significant spending to protect itself in a lawsuit filed by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, they needed to focus their efforts on specific areas during the 2024 election cycle.
We are currently experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
To use this website, make sure JavaScript is enabled in your
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Have you already signed up as a member? Please log in
Interested in accessing all the content from The Times? Subscribe now to
Prom
Index of the website
Navigation for information on the