The Trump administration has abruptly replaced FBI Director Kash Patel as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll has been named interim head of ATF while continuing to lead the Army, a person familiar with the matter told The Independent.
It’s an unusual dual position that Patel was similarly in when he was tapped to lead both the FBI and ATF in February.
No reason was giving for the change. Since being tapped as interim head of ATF, however, Patel had been a “largely absent” leader, only turning up to the agency’s headquarters on a single occasion, The Washington Post reported. late last month. A source told Fox News Digital that Patel wanted to focus on running the FBI.
Driscoll, 38, was notified of his appointment while traveling in Europe on Wednesday, a U.S. defense official told Fox News Digital.
Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement: "Director Kash Patel was briefly designated ATF Director while awaiting Senate confirmations — a standard, short-term move. Dozens of similar re-designations have occurred across the federal government. Director Patel is now excelling in his role at the FBI and delivering outstanding results."
Patel is still listed as the agency’s acting director on the ATF website.
Driscoll, a former Army officer, oversees operations, resource allocation and modernization for nearly one million Active, Guard and Reserve soldiers as well as more than 265,000 Army civilians.
Under his new title, Driscoll will temporarily oversee the law enforcement agency of roughly 5,200 employees.
ATF is a law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice that prevents and investigates federal offenses involving firearms, explosives, acts of arson, bombings and illegal tracking of alcohol and tobacco products, among other things.
It has been subject to scrutiny by Republicans for being overly regulatory of firearms.
President Donald Trump has yet to nominate a permanent head of ATF. It’s unclear if he will.
Last month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche proposed merging the ATF with the Drug Enforcement Agency in a memo obtained by Reuters.
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