Kash Patel, fresh off his swearing-in as the nation’s ninth FBI director—a ceremony conducted by Attorney General Pam Bondi—apparently has enough bandwidth to take on an additional big job as well. Reports on Saturday indicate that he will be nominated to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
I find it hard enough to keep up with one job, but he’s going to take on two extremely important positions? Impressive.
Bondi had fired the ATF’s general counsel earlier in the week:
FBI Director Kash Patel will be tapped to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), two sources confirmed to Fox News Digital on Saturday.
The news comes a day after Patel was sworn in as the ninth FBI director in a narrow Senate vote.
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned at the end of former President Biden’s term and Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF general counsel, Pamela Hicks, on Thursday.
“Earlier today, I was served official notice from the Attorney General of the United States that I was being removed from my position as the Chief Counsel of ATF and my employment with the Department of Justice terminated,” Hicks posted on her LinkedIn page Thursday, confirming her termination.
The AG explained her decision to terminate Hicks in no uncertain terms:
“These people were targeting gun owners,” Bondi told Fox News on Thursday of the ATF. “Not gonna happen under this administration.”
Both the FBI and ATF are part of the DOJ.
More–> Kash Patel Orders 1,500 FBI Agents and Staff Out of the Building on Day One
Kash Patel Brings the Fire As He’s Sworn in As FBI Director—’There WILL Be Accountability’
Gun owners are happy to see that Patel will be in charge:
The ATF has come under withering criticism from pro-Second Amendment advocates who say the agency is more concerned with gun control than gun safety.
The ATF, a law enforcement agency housed in the Department of Justice, is responsible for enforcing federal laws regarding the illegal use, sale and trafficking of firearms and explosives, as well as the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
It has been a frequent target of Republican lawmakers who perceive the agency as infringing on the Second Amendment, particularly as former President Joe Biden empowered it to regulate the sale of “ghost guns” and close a loophole that eased the process of buying a firearm.
Trump earlier this month signed an executive order to “halt existing policies designed to curtail the clear right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.” A White House release on that order accused the ATF of unfairly targeting gun owners.
Kash is going to be a very busy man in the upcoming months. In the meantime, responsible gun owners will likely be very happy with this new development.
