Trump is moving quicker than any president in recent history. And the powers that be don’t like that.
Now a stunning removal of this key Trump official throws Washington, D.C. into an uproar.
In a surprising shakeup, FBI Director Kash Patel has been ousted from his position as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll stepping in to take the reins, U.S. officials revealed on Wednesday.
Reuters broke the news of this unexpected switch, which the Justice Department had kept under wraps. Curiously, as of Wednesday afternoon, Patel’s image and acting director title remained prominently displayed on the ATF’s website.
Patel took the oath as acting ATF chief on February 24, just three days after assuming the FBI director role, which he still maintains. It’s a rare move for one individual to helm two major Justice Department entities simultaneously.
A Justice Department insider confirmed Patel’s exit, emphasizing that it wasn’t tied to his performance, though the reason for his departure remains a mystery.
Driscoll is now at the helm of the ATF as acting director, according to the Justice Department source. Three other insiders noted that the Army secretary will juggle both positions moving forward.
The timeline of Patel’s official removal and Driscoll’s appointment remains hazy. Driscoll was on the move Wednesday, having been in the Middle East earlier in the week.
President Trump’s second term has been a rollercoaster, marked by rapid-fire policy shifts, including mass firings and rehirings of federal employees and a Wednesday flip-flop on tariffs—slashing them temporarily after imposing hefty import taxes less than a day prior.
Top Justice Department brass are mulling a potential merger of the ATF with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to trim expenses.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, a staunch defender of gun rights, has rolled out a task force dedicated to upholding the Second Amendment, which safeguards the right to bear arms, per a memo obtained by Reuters.
She announced that the ATF would join forces with other Justice Department units, including the Civil Rights Division, on this initiative.
Trump had previously directed the department to scrutinize a raft of firearms rules enacted under President Joe Biden’s tenure.
Earlier this week, the ATF officially scrapped its “zero tolerance policy,” which had mandated revoking licenses of gun dealers who deliberately flouted serious rules, like skipping background checks.
Monday’s press release featured a quote from Patel as acting director.
How this leadership swap at the ATF might ripple through its oversight of the firearms industry—or why Driscoll was chosen—remains up in the air.
The NSSF, the firearm industry’s top trade group, cheered Driscoll’s appointment in a Wednesday statement, calling it a sign of his commitment to “bring reform to ATF and protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Patel’s initial naming as acting ATF director sent shockwaves through the department’s rank-and-file.
When Patel was sworn in as FBI director on February 21, he snapped a photo with White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka.
Gorka shared the shot on X with a now-deleted caption: “Oh, by the way, meet the new Director of the ATF. Yes. Seriously.”
Five current and former ATF officials said at the time that Trump’s plan to slot Patel into the role caught the agency completely off guard.
On his swearing-in day, Patel popped into ATF headquarters for about an hour, rallying staff to zero in on nabbing violent gang members, two of those officials told Reuters.
Since then, he’s been a ghost at headquarters, according to four current and former officials.
The leadership void at the agency responsible for tackling gun, bomb, and arson crimes has sparked concern among current and former law enforcement voices, who fear its shaky footing could jeopardize public safety and leave it exposed to budget cuts that might cripple its ability to pursue armed criminals.
“To see them in the situation they’re in now is just really heartbreaking,” said Peter Forcelli, a former ATF assistant director who spent years chasing down gangs and criminal networks.
“The fact they’re getting kicked around like a soccer ball is to me just incredibly disrespectful.”
