I think we knew that the feds under Trump would not zealously go after gun crimes. It was always going to be a free-for-all. But this is a little bit different.
President Donald Trump’s newly-confirmed FBI director, Kash Patel, is expected to take on another top law enforcement role in the administration as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to a White House official and two other sources familiar with the plan.
Patel’s appointment could be made official as soon as next week with a swearing-in ceremony, the sources said.
The ATF, a law enforcement agency housed in the Department of Justice, is responsible for enforcing federal laws regarding the illegal use, sale and trafficking of firearms and explosives, as well as the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
It has been a frequent target of Republican lawmakers who perceive the agency as infringing on the Second Amendment, particularly as former President Joe Biden empowered it to regulate the sale of “ghost guns” and close a loophole that eased the process of buying a firearm.
Trump earlier this month signed an executive order to “halt existing policies designed to curtail the clear right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.” A White House release on that order accused the ATF of unfairly targeting gun owners.
Is Trump running out of loyalists or are they just preparing to get rid of the agency altogether (which has been a fringe position for decades among the blood and guts 2nd Amendment crowd.) I would expect Kash to be perfectly willing to take that step.
I’m just a little bit surprised that ATF wasn’t among the first targeting by the DOGE wrecking ball. Wouldn’t that have made MAGA more ecstatic than anything?
Apparently, they’re taking the incremental path. I’m not sure why.
Attorney General Pam Bondi last week fired the chief counsel of ATF, Pamela Hicks, after three years of service, according to a LinkedIn post shared by Hicks. Bondi said, without evidence, that Hicks was among the leaders at the Department of Justice who were weaponizing the agency. “These people were targeting gun owners. Not gonna happen under this administration,” Bondi said in an interview with Fox News.
I assume they were targeting gun owners who broke the law but that’s obviously off the table now. Fire away gun nuts. Nobody’s going to stop you.