'This is an attempt at gun control': Republicans urged White House to axe embargo on Russian ammunition

On Friday, The Washington Postreported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was one of several lawmakers who wrote to the Biden administration in September demanding an end to the embargo on Russian ammunition imports.

"The group sent a letter dated Sept. 3 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen accusing the administration of using the sanctions as a means to enact gun control measures and arguing that it would exacerbate a shortage of ammunition," said the report. "'Wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, gun owners, and shooting sportsmen rely on ammunition imported from Russia and are rightfully concerned that this is an attempt at gun control,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter."

The sanctions were first imposed in response to the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok. He survived this attempt but was imprisoned on dubious charges upon returning to Russia.

'Two weeks before the letter was sent, the lobbying arm of the NRA wrote about the sanctions, calling it an 'overreach' and 'crusade against law-abiding gun owners' by the Biden administration," said the report. "The letter mirrors the same points the NRA made in its article. The organization wrote that it is exploring all of its legislative, legal and policy options to block the policy."

Other Republican lawmakers who signed the letter include Caucus Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

This comes despite the fact that Cruz has publicly demanded that the Biden administration sanction Russia more harshly as the Ukraine invasion has unfolded. He spearheaded a legislative effort to sanction the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which the administration held off on to maintain good relations with Germany. This became moot after Germany canceled the project itself.