WASHINGTON — Days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, then-Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi tapped Rep. Mike Thompson, a Vietnam veteran and lifelong hunter, to lead a new group to find ways to work with Republicans to stop gun violence.
More than a decade later, Thompson is still chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and gun deaths in America are soaring. Some Democratic lawmakers and gun control activists now say a more aggressive approach — and new leadership — is needed from the little-known task force to paint a sharper contrast between the two parties.
Thompson is a close Pelosi ally who represents a district that extends from the San Francisco Bay north through the Napa and Sonoma valleys and some rural parts of northern California. While no one is publicly calling on him to step down, there have been numerous private discussions among lawmakers and activists in recent months about the need for a change, sources said.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., a Congressional Black Caucus member who succeeded Pelosi as the top House Democrat in January, has been a part of these discussions, and, ultimately, has the power to replace Thompson or keep him in place.
Some Black Caucus members have pointed to two of their own — Reps. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., and Robin Kelly, D-Ill. — as obvious successors to Thompson. They argue that the two women have been more effective messengers about the need for gun reform, turning up the heat on recalcitrant Republicans by speaking about their personal experiences with the gun violence that has ravaged Black communities.
In 2018, McBath flipped a GOP seat outside Atlanta, running on the issue after her 17-year-old son, Jordan, was fatally shot by a white man during an argument over loud music; Kelly represents a district that includes parts of south Chicago that have been plagued by shooting deaths. Both serve in the group’s leadership and are open to serving as chair but neither is actively campaigning for the job.
“I think there’s frustration and a desire to recognize the moment that we’re in, in particular, the mass shootings that we’ve seen this year,” said one senior Congressional Black Caucus source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the current dynamics. “When it comes to tactics — in particular how we hold Republicans accountable who are currently getting off the hook — there’s a desire for the Gun Violence Task Force to change its method of business and its tactics.”
The source said Jeffries “is aware of the concerns that members are expressing.” A Jeffries spokesperson declined to comment.
‘New blood’
“I have the utmost respect for Mr. Thompson; I think he has been a strong chair. There’s nothing wrong with new blood,” added a senior Black Caucus lawmaker who also spoke on condition of anonymity. “We have constituents who are literally crying out for action — not just here in Congress but at the states.”
“We need people who can be in a position to help both articulate the message of why we need this and who can work to reach the agreements that we need to pass meaningful legislation,” the lawmaker added.
In 2012, Democrats saw Thompson, a fiscally conservative member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, as someone who could work across the aisle on gun issues without alienating the swing voters that vulnerable Democrats need to appeal to. But activists now say the politics around guns has shifted, and reform advocates like McBath are running in — and winning — competitive races. One gun control activist said that Thompson, the father of a deputy sheriff and firefighter, was once a “very effective leader” but that there was now a “strong desire for change.”
“He’s a white guy with law enforcement ties. And it’s not a white-guy issue anymore,” said the activist. “No, you don’t need law enforcement to get behind the issue to get votes. You don’t need law enforcement to get behind the issue to justify a particular piece of legislation. That time has come and gone.”
McBath, 63, who’s been mentioned as a potential candidate for governor in Georgia in 2026, said: “I’m here to help in any way that I can. I want to pass as many gun safety laws as possible.”
Kelly, 67, said she will “step up if asked” but added that there’s been no discussions within the group about changing leadership.
“I’m a team player, so I’m just ready to work in whatever capacity,” Kelly said.
Not backing down
In a phone interview Tuesday, Thompson, 72, defended his decade-long record as chairman and gave no indication he planned to step down anytime soon. In the last Congress, he said, House Democrats passed bills expanding background checks, closing the so-called Charleston loophole and banning assault weapons; none of the bills, however, passed the Senate to become law.
Thompson argued that “good policy work and advocacy” by House Democrats had laid the foundation for senators to strike a deal last year on the first major gun reform law to pass Congress in a generation.
He also downplayed some of the critical comments aimed at him, chalking them up to Democratic frustration at being in the minority and seeing Republicans pass “very radical legislation” loosening restrictions on things like stabilizing braces for pistols.
“I can understand where people might be frustrated. Believe me, if new leadership would get us gun violence prevention legislation, I would have been lobbying for new leadership a long time ago,” Thompson said. “I’m always interested in hearing ideas. And any of those ideas that get us to 218 [votes] in the House, I think would be wonderful.”
Asked if others should be given an opportunity to lead the 170-member task force, Thompson replied: “I think I’ve been very effective in the role, and as long as I can continue to be effective, I think I should probably continue to be effective.”
Thompson also noted the irony that some of the calls for “new blood” were coming from the Black Caucus, whose members have been fierce defenders of Democrats’ seniority system, especially when it comes to committee chairmanships.
“It’s interesting that that new blood concept was coming from the Black Caucus — they’ve always been opposed to that,” he said with a chuckle.
There are signs that Thompson, who is in his 13th term, has been responding to the calls to get tougher. Pushed by McBath, Kelly and other members, the task force this month — National Gun Violence Awareness Month — devised a strategy to launch three discharge petitions to amp up pressure on Republicans to support gun legislation.
McBath’s discharge petition would bypass GOP leadership and force a vote on an assault weapons ban. The two background check proposals, sponsored by Thompson and former Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a past Black Caucus chairman, would strengthen background checks for gun purchases.
But the strategy to pursue discharge petitions has faced skepticism from a handful of Democrats. Currently, none of the three has unanimous Democratic support. The assault weapons ban proposal has 205 signatures, and the two background check measures each have 208. And a key Republican who voted last year to beef up background checks and ban assault weapons, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, has rejected the strategy to end-run Speaker Kevin McCarthy and force votes on the bills.
Thompson and Democratic leaders, however, view the pursuit itself as a tremendous success, something that originated out of the group’s own membership.
“This is a task-force-driven idea to do the discharge petitions and continue to make the American people understand how important this is,” Thompson said. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that the outside groups are important, the task force is important. But it’s the American people who are really going to push this thing over the finish line.”
‘To me, we are all leaders’
Some key Black lawmakers say it’s irrelevant who serves as chairman of the task force because so many Democrats are leading on the issue of gun violence.
“Democrats are not divided. And we are following the leadership of strong leaders like Mike Thompson, like Robin Kelly, like Lucy McBath. I am comfortable working with all three of them. To me, we are all leaders,” said Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, the immediate past Black Caucus chair. “What’s most important for me is safer communities, and I feel I can get that with all three.”
Progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., 47, said he and freshman Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., 26, a gun violence survivor, joined the task force this year and are bringing new blood, fresh ideas and energy to the table.
“I’m one of the loudest, most consistent voices on the issue. So it’s not about him and his leadership on that task force,” Bowman said of Thompson. “It’s about all of us being relentless and stepping up and continuing to be loud about that issue.”
But he added: “Yes, there should be a rotating leadership for the task force … and I’m sure Rep. Thompson would be open to that.”
Current Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said he didn’t have any details about possible discussions on calls for change on the task force. But he heaped praise on McBath when asked if she was up to the task of leading the gun violence group.
“I have the highest respect for the courage, the conviction and the fortitude that Lucy McBath brings to this institution every single day,” said Horsford, who was just 19 when his own father was killed by gun violence.
“I just know it’s good to have someone with the background, the lived experience, the direct impact of the loss of her son, helping to lead what I call the new gun lobby.”
