Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, shown in March, calls a Trump-era regulatory shift “essentially a giveaway to gun manufacturers. ” Credit: Tom Williams / CQ / Roll Call

Democrats in the House and Senate are rebuking the Biden administration over a decision to leave in place a Trump-era regulatory change that detractors argue caused gun exports to soar, including to countries with poor human rights track records.

As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden said he would reverse a decision by the Trump administration to move export oversight of firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department. But 18 months into his administration, that has yet to happen — even as gun sales, including those of semiautomatic weapons, have ramped up steeply.

“There are fewer registration requirements, less oversight, more exemptions, and significantly curtailed congressional review,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, at a House Foreign Affairs hearing last week. “It was essentially a giveaway to gun manufacturers a few years ago, and it seems to have worked.”

Deepening the frustration felt by Capitol Hill Democrats […]

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