President Trump is famous for his role in the reality TV show The Apprentice, in which he hires, mentors, and often fires business leaders in dramatic fashion. However, his administrative picks during his tenure as president have often drawn criticism.
On April 2, 2026, President Trump announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi was leaving her position (widely reported as her being fired). In that context, 33 House Republicans penned a letter to the president outlining the characteristics and priorities they believe (as it reflects the will of the people) he should seek in his next attorney general.
The April 21 letter is written specifically in the context of the Second Amendment. It begins: “…as you consider the future leadership of the Department of Justice (DOJ), we write to urge you to ensure that your next Attorney General arrives with a clear, actionable mandate to deliver the full measure of Second Amendment restoration that you promised the American people.”
The letter asks the president to direct the next attorney general to make the following priorities day-one tasks:
- Immediately cease enforcement of Biden-era gun rules and secure permanent – not temporary – relief.
- Stop defending unconstitutional gun laws in court.
- Rein in the ATF and reform its culture.
These requests reflect the sentiment of the Second Amendment community, which has noted that the administrative state and its rules have been the most difficult roadblocks to clearing 2A infringements – and the ones that will be the easiest to reinstate under a future administration that does not share a friendly posture toward Second Amendment rights.
The request to the president comes with an implied warning related to future elections:
Gun owners across this country remain energized by your Administration’s broader record, but their frustration with the pace of progress at the DOJ is real and growing. That frustration, if left unaddressed, risks dampening the grassroots enthusiasm that will be essential to retaining and growing the durable political majority you created in your sweeping 2024 election victory.
The letter also calls out a notable unfulfilled campaign promise:
Mr. President, you campaigned on a clear promise, stating during your 2024 reelection campaign that ‘all of those Biden disasters get ripped up and torn out my first week, but maybe my first day, in office.’ Yet to date, the DOJ has failed to implement even your most basic directive to simply undo what Biden did to the Second Amendment.
While some have argued that the Bondi DOJ was “the most pro-2A DOJ in history,” it continued to defend numerous gun control measures in court – something the letter directly criticizes:
The DOJ should not be in the business of defending plainly unconstitutional firearms restrictions, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. Your next Attorney General should issue clear internal guidance directing DOJ attorneys to evaluate all pending firearms litigation through the lens of Bruen‘s text-and-history standard, and to decline to defend laws that cannot survive that scrutiny.
The letter closes with a reminder that gun owners – of which there are roughly 100 million in the United States – have played a significant role in the president’s electoral success:
Mr. President, American gun owners have been some of your most loyal and enthusiastic voters. They delivered for you at the ballot box, and they deserve to see their constitutional rights respected in return. The roadmap above requires no new legislation – it only requires leadership, willpower, and a Department of Justice that is genuinely committed to your agenda rather than protecting its own institutional inaction.
The Second Amendment community will closely watch the president’s next pick for AG and hope that it doesn’t result in yet another famous firing.
