President Donald Trump instructed the Justice Department not to contest a Texas federal court decision that invalidated National Firearms Act registration for suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns, CBS News reported.

Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas issued that holding on August 5, 2026, after finding the remaining registration rules could not stand once a 2025 statute had ended the related $200 tax. The October 2025 suit, later joined with a second case brought by several Second Amendment groups, covers those organizations’ current and future members.

A September 17 CBS account cited an unnamed Justice Department official saying the department will inform Congress it will not appeal. Federal firearms licensees had awaited ATF implementation guidance while monitoring whether an appeal would be filed.