FBI Director Kash Patel was removed as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) this week and replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Patel, who had only held the ATF position since late February, will now focus solely on leading the FBI, according to the outlet. Driscoll will serve dual roles, maintaining his post at the Department of the Army while overseeing the ATF — a rare consolidation of federal leadership that has not yet been publicly explained by the Trump administration.
“My mission is your mission, and spread it across America and utilize it to defeat the most destructive operation in U.S. history. And that is unelected bureaucrats seizing our constitutional rights from you every single day and chipping away at your freedoms every single day,” Patel said at a Gun Owners of America convention in August. He also characterized the ATF as existing to “wipe out” Second Amendment rights.
This is your next FBI Director. Kash Patel is fiercely pro gun.
We had the honor of hosting him at GOALS in August. pic.twitter.com/rHgJvtUslX
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) December 1, 2024
Driscoll, a former U.S. Army armor officer who served in Iraq from 2009 to 2010, previously held roles in investment banking, private equity, and business operations before being tapped to become Army secretary, according to his profile on the Army’s website. Driscoll “oversees operations, modernization, and resource allocation” in his role at the Army, his profile reads.
The FBI and ATF didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sudden change comes as the Trump administration considers folding the ATF into the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to streamline overlapping missions and reduce federal spending, Reuters separately reported. That proposal, reportedly backed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, would reshape how the federal government enforces gun laws and regulates firearms dealers.
Patel’s brief and reportedly hands-off tenure raised eyebrows across the agency, according to The Washington Post. He reportedly visited ATF headquarters just once and had minimal contact with career officials during his time in the role.
Under former President Joe Biden, the ATF aggressively expanded its regulatory reach, revoking hundreds of gun dealer licenses under a “zero tolerance policy” and pushing new rules on so-called ghost guns and pistol braces. The agency also narrowed its interpretation of who qualifies as a firearms dealer, triggering backlash from Second Amendment advocates and multiple legal challenges. Biden’s ATF director, Steve Dettelbach, frequently coordinated with state attorneys general to enforce red flag laws and background check systems.
Patel’s dual appointment to lead both the FBI and ATF sparked concern among congressional Democrats and gun control advocates, who accused Trump of politicizing law enforcement.
“Running ATF is a deadly serious job,” Democratic California Rep. Mike Thompson wrote in a letter after Patel’s ATF appointment. “Naming an unqualified partisan to oversee our federal gun violence prevention laws is a disservice to the American people and offensive to every American child who has grown up fearful of gun violence in their schools and communities.”
Patel’s name and photo were still listed as acting director on the ATF’s website as of Wednesday.
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