Ex-GOP candidate who blamed gun violence on 'Black people' mulled for ATF head: report

A failed Republican Senate candidate with a history of controversial statements – including once blaming gun violence on “Black people, frankly” – is reportedly being mulled by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF.

On Thursday, Trump loyalist Blake Masters sat down with the incoming president’s transition team and is said to be interested in becoming the country’s top gun regulator, Semafor reported Friday.

Masters had been jockeying to head the Presidential Personnel Office, but Sergio Gor, the president and co-founder of Donald Trump Jr.’s publishing company, took the role, which is responsible for helping to fill administration jobs, according to the publication.

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Masters, who supported the 2020 election conspiracy, lost two races for Congress in the last two election cycles: a GOP primary for an Arizona congressional seat this year and a 2022 Senate matchup where he lost to Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly.

Masters, however, managed to win over Trump’s endorsement. And his “unwavering pro-Trump stance could help him win the role” of ATF director, according to Semafor. The report added that Republicans like Sen. David Perdue and former Rep. Billy Long have parlayed their allegiance to Trump into plum nominations this month after he became president-elect.

If he is selected by Trump, Masters’ path to nomination won’t be easy – but that’s mostly due “to the history of the ATF director position, which involves oversight of politically sensitive gun policies,” Semafor reported. However, his “pro-gun” stance may help him win over the support of other pro-gun Republicans.

Trump's party can afford to lose up to three defections on any nominee.

Another failed congressional candidate has also expressed interest in the ATF position: gun advocate Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber known as the “The AK Guy.” The Texan wrote on X that if selected by Trump, he would “hack, slash and cripple” the agency and eventually disband it “entirely.”