GOP congressman representing Nashville shooting victims wants to defund federal gun enforcement

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), a newly elected House lawmaker, wants to defund the federal agency that stops gun traffickers, reported The Daily Beast on Tuesday

"Just two months after a mass shooting at a Nashville school in his very own Congressional district, Ogles made the puzzling proposal to defund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) through 2025," reported Erik Uebelacker. "'They’ve been weaponized, like other agencies, against the American people,' Ogles said. 'They’ve been regulating the gun industry by press release and fiat and not going through the proper channels of Congressional approval process.'"

Republicans have long vilified the ATF, which is responsible for federal gun crimes and, among other things, tracks the unlawful trafficking of firearms. Their unified opposition helped sink President Joe Biden's first choice for ATF director, David Chipman — indeed, prior to the appointment of Steve Dettelbach last year, the ATF only had one permanent director since 2006, in large part because of GOP obstruction of the office being filled.

"After the Nashville shooting earlier this year, critics dragged [Ogles'] 'thoughts and prayers' through the mud when they found his most recent Christmas card, which featured his family decked-out with assault rifles in front of their Christmas tree," noted the report.

All of this comes as Ogles is facing scrutiny over allegations that he lied about his background to voters, in a similar manner as now-indicted Congressman George Santos (R-NY).

Among other things, Ogles claimed he was an "economist" despite no formal training in that field; that he was a law enforcement officer investigating international sex trafficking when he actually flunked out of a volunteer sheriff's deputy job and briefly worked at an anti-trafficking nonprofit; and that he had a degree in Political Science and International Relations, when that was not what his major was. He has also been accused of pocketing $250,000 that was raised for a memorial for his stillborn son.