Democrats call for NRA Foundation to be prohibited from receiving donations from federal employees

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) led a group of Democratic senators to call for the National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation to be immediately removed from the list of charities eligible to solicit and receive contributions from federal employees on Friday.

Twelve senators, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), wrote a letter to the head of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Michael Rigas, requesting the NRA Foundation be removed during the Combined Federal Campaign’s (CFC) annual fundraising drive, set to begin Sept. 21.

The letter follows the lawsuit from the New York attorney general seeking to dissolve the powerful pro-gun interest group announced last month.

The CFC fundraising drive has an approved list of potential recipients of charitable contributions from federal employees, and its mission “is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all,” according to their letter.

The senators noted that, from 2014 to 2018, the CFC raised more than $488,000 for the NRA Foundation.

“In order to maintain the integrity of the CFC and ensure that participating charities adhere to OPM’s own regulations, we request that you remove the NRA Foundation and all related entities from the list of eligible CFC charities in advance of the next giving campaign,” they wrote.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) civil suit alleges that the NRA violated state law governing nonprofit organizations, contributing to a loss of more $64 million over three years, and that the group and four of its top officials diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission.

Earlier this month, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee called on the IRS to review the tax-exempt status of the NRA and NRA Foundation.