FBI Director Kash Patel Tapped As Acting ATF Director

President Donald Trump’s newly appointed Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation gained another title: Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Patel was sworn in as the FBI Director on Feb. 21, following a slim majority confirmation from the U.S. Senate. Days later, the Trump Administration announced Patel would also lead the ATF as Acting Director.

Patel was sworn into that position on Wednesday. Former Acting Director Marvin Richardson will stay on as Deputy Director.

Speaking at a gun rights conference in 2024, Patel told the crowd that he is committed to preserving the rights of Americans.

“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 is a former federal prosecutor and public defender who has previously worked as a senior advisor in the Intelligence Community as well as the Pentagon.

Democrats and anti-gun activists questioned the appointment, pointing to Patel’s lack of experience compared to previous directors.

“Kash Patel has no experience fighting crime, preventing mass shootings, or stopping domestic terrorism. As the only federal law enforcement agency whose sole mission is to fight violent crime, the ATF requires serious leadership. That’s not Kash Patel,”  GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown said in a statement. “American communities will pay the price.”

Meanwhile, gun rights advocates applauded the move and congratulated Patel on the position.

“Like the FBI, the ATF was weaponized by the previous administration. In the case of ATF, it was to carry out a radical gun control agenda,” Lawrence G. Keane, National Shooting Sports Foundation Senior Vice President and General Counsel, said in a press release.

“President Trump’s appointment of Acting Director Patel to lead the ATF will return the bureau to its proper role as a law enforcement agency laser focused on combatting violent crime and illegal firearms trafficking and to act as a non-partisan regulator of the firearm industry."

Patel’s appointment follows Attorney General Pam Bondi’s firing of Pamela Hicks, the ATF’s Chief Counsel, last week. Bondi claimed Hicks, a 20-year Justice Department attorney, was “targeting gun owners.”

It’s unclear if the Trump Administration will formally nominate Patel as the ATF Director in the future or completely dismantle the agency altogether. For now, Patel oversees 5,500 ATF employees and roughly 37,000 FBI employees.

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