'The time has come': Lauren Boebert formally proposes abolishing ATF
A firebrand Colorado Republican has introduced legislation to end part of the federal government that regulates guns, explosives, and booze and oversees arson probes.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, fresh off her victory in a new district in northern Colorado, proposed Friday H.R. 129, which would "abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."
Despite a GOP trifecta, the bill has just a 4 percent chance of making it out of committee and a minuscule 2 percent chance of being enacted, according to GovTrack.
The 119th Congress began Friday with the GOP taking narrow majorities in both chambers.
In the Senate, Republicans control 52 seats. In the House, Republicans control 219 seats to Democrats' 215.
Furthermore, this majority could become even slimmer, as three Republican seats are expected to be vacant early this year until special elections are held.
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Despite the seemingly long odds, Boebert declared Monday on X: "The time has come. ABOLISH THE ATF!"
The legislation comes after fellow MAGA Republicans have expressed similar sentiments.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said in late November that he planned to introduce a measure that would do the same. At the time, he attacked the agency for continuously violating “citizen rights and Second Amendment rights.”
“The ATF is a disaster,” Burlison told Fox News Digital. “For decades they’ve been a disaster agency and they’ve been violating the Constitution’s Second Amendment.”
“Every time they try to get involved, they mess things up," Burlison added. “They have a long history of mistakes of abusing individuals' Second Amendment rights – all the way back to Ruby Ridge, to what happened at Waco, and then you had the Operation Fast and Furious."
He said states ought to "police what happens to the states.”
Failed GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters — who has a history of making controversial statements, including once blaming gun violence on “Black people, frankly” – was reportedly being mulled by President-elect Donald Trump to head the ATF.