(Ken Silva, Headline USA) New FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to be named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a Justice Department official said Saturday.
Patel could be sworn in next week, the official said, putting Patel in charge of two of the Justice Department’s largest agencies in an arrangement that raises questions about the future of the bureau that has long drawn the ire of conservatives, libertarians and gun owners of all backgrounds.
The DOJ official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move before it’s announced publicly. White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening.
Patel was sworn in Friday as FBI director after winning narrow Senate approval. Gun rights groups applauded the appointment of Patel.
"The counter mandate that we have is the force of the Founding Fathers in the 2nd Amendment."
"That is more powerful than any regulation these entities can come up with. But if you let ATF continue to chip away, they will completely take it away FOREVER."
– @Kash_Patel 🔫🇺🇸 https://t.co/TijQnt0qqQ pic.twitter.com/eOENpAmrR6
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 23, 2025
“Kash Patel’s confirmation is a massive win for gun owners across America. Unlike his predecessors, he understands that the FBI must serve the American people—not act as a political weapon against them,” Tim Macy, Chairman of Gun Owners of America, said in a press release.
We look forward to seeing Director Patel restore integrity to the Bureau while standing firm in defense of our Second Amendment rights.”
ATF is a separate agency with about 5,500 employees and is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws around firearms, explosives and arson.
The bureau has been at the center of numerous scandals, from the Waco massacre to Operation Fast & Furious.
A Fast & Furious whistleblower had reportedly been under consideration to lead Trump’s ATF.
Headline USA has reported extensively on Forcelli’s disclosures, which he chronicled in a book he published in March entitled The Deadly Path: How Operation Fast & Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels.
As his book explains, the Fast & Furious scandal entailed the U.S. government allowing illegal gun purchases under the guise of tracking organized crime. The operation never resulted in the arrests of any organized crime leaders, and it became a national scandal when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed by a Fast & Furious firearm in 2010.
Forcelli said in an interview in February that he believes that the government is still allowing the streets to be flooded with illegal weapons.
“The U.S. Attorney is turning a blind eye to straw purchases, which is fueling what’s going on in Mexico,” he said.
“The prosecutors who work there haven’t changed their ways. They have a habit of kicking the can down the road and not taking straw purchase cases. These are not purchasers who are buying guns for target shooters. These are guys who are sending guns to Mexico to slaughter human beings.”
Forcelli also accused Biden’s ATF Director Steven Dettelbach of being a “tool for the gun-control lobby.” Dettelbach, for his part, quit before Trump took office.
Forcelli has not yet publicly commented on Patel’s appointment.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
