Newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to be named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people familiar with the matter told The Independent.
Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director on Friday, could take on the new position as early as next week, a Justice Department official told ABC News.
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.
The agency also regulates the sale, possession and transportation of firearms, ammunition and explosives across states.
The Trump loyalist has never been an ATF agent.
Republicans have often criticized the ATF for being overly regulatory of firearms, thus impeding Americans’s Second Amendment right. Former president Joe Biden used the ATF to enact further restrictions on firearm purchases, requiring more sellers to run background checks at gun shows and cracking down on the sale and use of ghost guns.
Since taking office, Trump has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the actions taken by the Biden administration to assess if the regulations infringe on the Second Amendment.
Already, Bondi fired the general counsel for ATF, Pamela Hicks, for what she claims was “targeting gun owners”.
Hicks had been a 23-year veteran of ATF and served as chief counsel since 2021.
Patel has advocated for gun rights and was a featured speaker at the Gun Owners of America conference in Tennessee this past August.
The organization endorsed Patel and applauded his recent confirmation calling it a “major victory for gun owners”
“Patel has consistently demonstrated his dedication to protecting gun rights and defending the Constitution against government overreach,” the Gun Owners of America wrote.
