(José Niño, Headline USA) FBI director Kash Patel has plans to drastically downsize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to a report by CNN, Patel plans to fire as many as 1,000 ATF agents” and transfer them over to the FBI. The ATF has roughly 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a figure that has remained the same in recent years.
This move would constitute a reduction of about one third of the ATF’s current agents.
Gun Owners of America, a no compromise gun lobby, praised Patel’s move in a post it published on X on Monday. GOA called for Patel to “dismantle” the ATF.
Last year, GOA fought the Biden administration & helped Congress block an entire new class of ATF agents.
Now, @Kash_Patel is cutting up to 1,000 more.
DISMANTLE. THE. ATF. 🔥 https://t.co/PFfOnsd4Up
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) March 23, 2025
GOA has strongly supported Kash Patel’s nomination as FBI Director. Last year, the organization enthusiastically endorsed President Donald Trump’s choice, describing Patel as “fiercely pro-gun” and a “true constitutionalist”. GOA’s Senior Vice President, Erich Pratt, expressed confidence that under Patel’s leadership, there would be a “reckoning” for those who had “weaponized the FBI against gun owners.”
Taylor Rhodes, who currently serves as the Director of Communications for the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), was not fully satisfied with this announcement. He posted on X, “Not enough.”
Not enough. https://t.co/H8r8GO70c6
— Taylor D. Rhodes (@TaylorDRhodes2A) March 24, 2025
Kash Patel has been highly critical of the ATF, portraying it as a threat to Second Amendment rights. In August 2024, he spoke at a Gun Owners of America summit, where he accused the ATF of attempting to “wipe out” people’s Second Amendment rights.
This rhetoric resonates with gun rights groups that have long been skeptical of the ATF’s role in firearms regulation.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
