TURMOIL

Another Top NRA Official Steps Down as Group Battles Internal Turmoil

Her departure comes just one month after the NRA’s chief political architect resigned.

The National Rifle Association’s longtime director of public affairs, Jennifer Baker, is stepping down from her role, Politico reports. Baker has been at the powerful gun rights group for the past six years, and helped orchestrate the NRA’s key support for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016. Recently, she reportedly played a key role in mapping out the NRA’s 2020 electoral strategy. Her sudden exit could now complicate the group’s work to turn out gun owners at the polls, potentially weakening the NRA’s influence in the 2020 election.

Her departure also adds to growing turmoil amongst the organization’s top ranks. Chris Cox, the NRA’s former chief political architect, resigned last month after the organization accused him of playing a role in a failed coup against its longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre. Earlier this year, the organization ousted president Oliver North and suspended the company’s longtime lawyer Steve Hart. The NRA ended 2018 facing a tumult of lawsuits and about $10.8 million of debt.