President Donald Trump is expected to name FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
A Justice Department official told ABC News that Patel is expected to be sworn into the acting director position early next week.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The move comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF’s general counsel, Pamela Hicks, late last week. Bondi said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that it was because the agency’s lead lawyer was “targeting gun owners.”
ABC News reached out to Hicks for comment.
The ATF, which is tasked with regulating sales and registrations of firearms across the United States, has long been a target of Republicans over what they argue is government encroachment on Second Amendment rights.
Earlier this month, Trump issued an executive order instructing Bondi to review actions to address the right to keep and bear arms and present a plan to the White House after 30 days. In one of her first memos signed after her confirmation, Bondi instructed the ATF to shift resources away from its alcohol and tobacco enforcement arms to assist in the DOJ’s efforts to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal groups.
The post Trump expected to name Kash Patel as acting ATF director appeared first on ABC News.
