US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to announce a federal rule that would officially ban bump stocks for firearms.

Mr Trump said last month that within weeks he would “be able to write out bump stocks” and will sign an order that requires all owners of the devices to turn over or discard the bump stocks within 90 days, according to CNN.

“Bump stocks turn semiautomatic guns into illegal machine guns,” a Justice Department official told the network.

“This final rule sends a clear message: Illegal guns have no place in a law-and-order society, and we will continue to vigorously enforce the law to keep these illegal weapons off the street.”

Mr Trump promised action on the issue earlier this year, following a shooting in Las Vegas last year that left 59 people dead. The device, which modifies semiautomatic weapons to fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger, was used in the mass shooting by gunman Stephen Paddock.

Some politicians argued that a legislative fix — not an executive one — was necessary to ban the item. However, fierce opposition from the National Rifle Association made that option less likely, reports the New York Post.

The directive from the executive branch could also face legal challenges, which would delay its implementation.

Mr Trump said in October that he told the NRA “bump stocks are gone,” but how the powerful lobby group responds to the final rule remains to be seen.

A spokesman for the NRA said in October 2017 that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives “should review bump-fire stocks to ensure they comply with federal law,” but made clear it opposed the broader gun-control legislation raised by some in Congress.

Last June, Slide Fire Solutions, the Texas company that invented the bump stock device and was its lead manufacturer, announced on its website that it would stop taking orders for its products and would shut down its website.