Trump admin lifts important ban

The Trump administration moved Friday to end a long-standing ban on the sale of gun silencers, also known as suppressors, to foreign buyers, handing a victory to firearm manufacturers.

The New York Times reported that the ban's end, which occurred Friday, followed lobbying efforts by Michael Williams, a deputy assistant to President Trump and White House lawyer who formerly ran a trade group representing silencer manufacturers.

“This is another win for the firearm and suppressor manufacturers by the Trump administration,” a spokesperson for the National Shooting Sports Foundation told the Times.

Williams's efforts to lobby the State Department to lift the ban began shortly after he followed former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to the West Wing following the latter's appointment, according to White House officials who spoke to the Times.