NRA’s Commerford, Speed Named Two of The Hill’s Top Grassroots Lobbyists

NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford and NRA-ILA Director of Federal Affairs Gordon Speed have been named two of the top grassroots lobbyists in Washington, D.C. by The Hill; an honor that NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin says should come as no surprise. 

In a press release, Hamlin lauded the pair’s “knowledge, work ethic, and vast networks”, calling them “unmatched” on Capitol Hill. 

From securing the first major repeal of National Firearms Act taxes since its inception, or returning firearm rights to our veterans, 2025 has been yet another banner year for the National Rifle Association and our members. On behalf of all of our members, I want to thank and congratulate them both for their well-earned recognition.”

Commerford and Speed are the only pro-Second Amendment lobbyists on The Hill‘s list, though two gun control lobbyists earned that distinction as well; Brady president Kris Brown and Everytown for Gun Safety head John Feinblatt. 

Feinblatt, it should be noted, is also head of the Bloomberg-funded website The Trace, which has partnered with media outlets like USA Today and Rolling Stone to present their pro-gun control talking points as hard news. 

The fact that he’s now been recognized as one of the top lobbyists on Capitol Hill should cause those media outlets to cut ties with The Trace, or at least seek out partnerships with reporters and writers on the pro-side of the Second Amendment so there is at least some semblance of balance. I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for USA Today to run an article written by someone like America’s First Freedom editor-in-chief Frank Miniter or SAF investigative journalist Lee Williams, though.

Anyway, I digress. Let’s get back to Commerford, Speed, and NRA-ILA, and the recognition by The Hill that the pair (and the others on the list) “represent the industry’s savviest, most influential and well-connected advocates across Capitol Hill,” and have “made measurable impacts on the course of policy and politics.”

I’d argue that’s far more true for Commerford and Speed than for Brown and Feinblatt, who can’t point to any successes at all on Capitol Hill this year. NRA certainly wasn’t the only organization lobbying for the language repealing tax and registration requirements on suppressors and short-barreled firearms to be included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but I know that both Commerford and Speed worked extremely hard to ensure that language would get to President Trump for his signature. 

Unfortunately, the Senate parliamentarian took away half that victory when she decided that the repeal of the registration requirement violated the Senate’s “Byrd Rule” and could not be included in the OBBBA, even though it’s actually a registry of those who’ve paid the $200 tax. I’m still not sure how that’s going to work in practice when the tax goes away on January 1, but the parliamentarian’s ruling shouldn’t take anything away from the lobbying effort to get that language in place to begin with. 

The fact that both Commerford and Speed have been recognized for their effectiveness by The Hill is, to me anyway, another sign that the NRA has turned a corner in members’ attempts to reform and re-center the organization. NRA-ILA was never absent from the federal lobbying scene completely, even during the most chaotic days of the org’s internal strife and outside attacks from the likes of New York Attorney General Letitia James, but I do think it’s fair to say its footprint shrank to some degree. 

Staff levels are still down from their peak, but from what I’ve seen the ILA team is full of passionate, dedicated, energized, and effective gun owners and Second Amendment advocates willing to put in long hours to protect, secure, and expand our right to keep and bear arms. The recognition by The Hill tells me that even while having to do more with less, Commerford, Speed, and the rest of ILA’s state and federal lobbyists are making an impact and having a positive effect on our Second Amendment rights.