Kash Patel to Run ATF, Too

Days after taking the oath as FBI director, Kash Patel is to be sworn in as acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The unusual arrangement will have one person in charge of two major agencies in the Justice Department, after senators of both parties had questioned whether Patel is sufficiently experienced to run one of them during his FBI confirmation process, the Washington Post reports. He's roundly attacked the FBI, and Sen. Chris Coons complained that Patel "is already actively undermining the bureau he seeks to lead."

The 5,000-employee ATF has similarly been the subject of attack by Republicans, who say its policies endanger Second Amendment rights, per NBC News. Its job includes regulating the sales and licensing of firearms, and supporters defend the ATF as an apolitical agency combating gun violence. Last month, GOP House members introduced legislation to abolish the ATF, and Republicans cut its budget during the Biden administration.

President Trump signed an executive order this month to "halt existing policies designed to curtail the clear right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms." Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF's general counsel on Thursday, per NBC, saying without citing evidence that Pamela Hicks was "targeting gun owners." Steve Dettelbach was the agency's director under President Biden. Patel was sworn in as FBI director on Friday after being confirmed by the Senate the day before. (More Kash Patel stories.)