Election Year Pain

NRA Imposes Sweeping Layoffs, Salary Cuts Ahead of 2020 Election

The powerful gun lobby has been scaling back fundraising and membership efforts, which typically raise millions of dollars—and helped Donald Trump win in 2016.

The National Rifle Association has been scaling back fundraising and membership efforts due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, requiring the powerful gun lobby group to make sweeping 20 percent pay cuts, lay off or furlough dozens of employees, and cancel its massive annual convention.

The newer financial challenges are exacerbating issues the organization has been dealing over the past couple of years due to ongoing regulatory battles and pending lawsuits. The NRA has had to forgo fundraising and membership events that typically raise millions of dollars, particularly in an election year. Meanwhile, CEO Wayne LaPierre reportedly told staff that he and other executives will “voluntarily” take salary cuts.

“I would be shocked if the NRA were able to sustain the investment in support of Trump in 2020 that it made in 2016,” Peter Ambler, executive director of the Giffords group, told the Associated Press.