Washington: US President Donald Trump has spoken to the National Rifle Association's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, and assured him that universal background checks were off the table, according to several people familiar with the call.

Trump told LaPierre that the White House remained interested in proposals that would address weapons getting into the hands of the mentally ill, including the possibility of backing so-called "red flag" laws that would allow the police to temporarily confiscate guns from people who have been shown to be a danger to themselves or others.

NRA head Wayne LaPierre, right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the the White House in a file picture. Credit:AP

Nonetheless, the President's conversation with LaPierre further reduced hopes that major new gun-safety measures would be enacted after the latest round of mass shootings.

"I know the gun lobby is putting the full court press on everyone surrounding the President," said Democrat Senator Chris Murphy, who said he was hoping for a process to be set up this week to move forward on a bipartisan background-check bill. "I have not received any different signal than I got last week," he said.