Brady Responds to NRA Restructuring News Ahead of 2026 Midterm Elections

In the 2024 elections, the NRA spent $11 million, a third of its 2020 budget and one-fifth of its spend in 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 4, 2025 — Today, the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced that it will be furloughing dozens of staff and restructuring operations as it prepares for the 2026 midterm elections. Recently, researchers at Stanford University published initial findings on the gun lobby’s surge in campaign contributions at the federal level for House of Representatives candidates in the aftermath of fatal school shootings.

Brady President Kris Brown said:

Thoughts and prayers to the NRA as it continues its slow-motion implosion into financial ruin. For decades, the organization has abused its tax-exempt status with the IRS to misdirect their members' dues, fund their leaders' lavish lifestyles, and peddle the Big Lie that more guns keep Americans safe. Brady's founders - gun owners Jim and Sarah Brady - referred to the NRA as 'the Evil Empire,' and we continue to thank all the activists through the years who've worked to hold the NRA accountable for the countless lives lost to gun violence and shielding politicians from electoral pressure.

For years, Brady has worked to expose the NRA’s irresponsible business practices. Among these efforts include:

• Sent over 150,000 petitions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) demanding an investigation to remove the NRA’s tax-exempt status.
• Since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, Brady grassroots activists have held monthly protests at the NRA headquarters outside Washington, D.C.
• Filed numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and lawsuits to uncover the NRA and gun industry’s role in the formation and implementation of gun policy under the Trump Administration.
• Brady’s Legal Team has brought forward litigation against NRA-backed states laws, including one in Florida that restricted doctors from talking to their patients about the risks of guns on behalf of doctors who believed the law violated their First Amendment rights.