FBI Director Kash Patel replaced as temp ATF director weeks earlier than previously disclosed

FBI Director Kash Patel was quietly replaced as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives more than a month earlier than was made publicly known, according to internal Trump administration discussions.

It was announced by the ATF on April 9, according to Reuters and other outlets, that Patel had been replaced as acting ATF director by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and that Patel would remain FBI chief, while Driscoll would continue leading the Army on a full-time basis and would start leading the ATF on a temporary basis. 

Just the News obtained a summary of the Patel-Driscoll-ATF controversy written by a top Trump administration official which suggests Patel was actually replaced by Driscoll as far back as February.

The Trump official wrote that Patel was briefly made acting ATF director in late February, but that the acting ATF director needs to be Senate confirmed and there were limited options for the gig. The official wrote that Trump administration officials soon understood that Patel was not going to be a proper fit for the ATF role, and so, the day after naming Patel to the acting ATF leader role, Driscoll was quietly named to the role instead, replacing Patel. And the official said that Driscoll replacing Patel had nothing to do with the quality of the job Patel had done briefly heading the ATF.

Nobody's talking

It is not clear whether Patel even knew that he had allegedly been replaced as ATF director back in February, and he had sent out multiple messages listing himself as the ATF director, including as recently as just days before the public April announcement that he had been replaced.

It is also unclear when Driscoll learned he had been named acting ATF director.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

An ATF spokesperson told Just the News only that “for questions related to ATF leadership changes please reach out to the Department of Justice.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Army declined to comment beyond telling Just the News that “for all of these questions, we refer you to the Department of Justice and/or the White House” and to “please direct your questions to the DOJ and/or the White House.”

In lockstep, a spokesperson for the Pentagon also declined to comment beyond telling Just the News to “please direct your questions to the White House, ATF, and FBI.”

"Director Patel was called to serve in a temporary capacity and did so," FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Just the News.

Patel was confirmed by the Senate as FBI director on February 20, and it was announced that he had also been made the acting ATF director on February 24. But, according to the summary by a Trump administration official obtained by Just the News, he was replaced as acting ATF director shortly thereafter.

Opacity about the real timelines

Driscoll was confirmed as Army secretary on February 25, and according to the internal Trump administration information obtained by Just the News, was actually made the new acting ATF director in late February — not in April, as many news reports seemed to suggest.

It was first reported on April 9 by Reuters that “FBI Director Kash Patel was removed from his role as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll” according to “U.S. officials.” The outlet noted that “Patel's photo and title of acting director was still listed on the ATF's website” as of that afternoon, though that information was soon switched to showing Driscoll as the ATF’s leader.

The outlet noted that “Patel was sworn in as acting ATF leader on February 24, three days after he was sworn in as FBI director, a role he continues to hold” and that “a Justice Department official confirmed Patel's removal and said it had nothing to do with his job performance” although “the official did not say why Patel was removed.”

The Associated Press reported that “senior ATF leaders were only informed Wednesday [April 9] of the change.”

It was reported by Fox News that “Driscoll was notified of the appointment on Wednesday [April 9] while traveling in Europe” according to a “defense official.” The outlet also said a source close to Patel said that “the ATF was taken off his plate because he wanted to focus on the bureau” and quoted the source as saying that "it was never supposed to be a long-term thing” and that “he was happy to serve, of course, but his job is the director of the FBI.”

And the New York Times reported on April 9 that “a Defense Department official confirmed that Mr. Driscoll had assumed interim leadership of the ATF with very little notice in recent days” but that “the official did not know exactly when Mr. Driscoll had assumed his additional duties.”

"Director Kash Patel was briefly designated ATF Director while awaiting Senate confirmations — a standard, short-term move. Dozens of similar re-designations have occurred across the federal government," White House spokesman Harrison Fields told multiple outlets in an April 9 email. "Director Patel is now excelling in his role at the FBI and delivering outstanding results."

The WayBack Machine shows that Patel was listed as the “Acting Director” of the ATF on that bureau’s website on February 24, with the website stating that his “Bio is forthcoming.” As late as April 9 — the day the news broke that Patel had been replaced by Driscoll as acting ATF director — Patel was still listed as the acting leader of that bureau.

It was the next day, April 10, when the ATF website began listing Driscoll as the “Acting Director” whose “Biography is forthcoming.” The ATF website now includes a full biography of Driscoll.

“Daniel P. Driscoll is the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), following his appointment by President Donald J. Trump,” the ATF website now says. “Mr. Driscoll is also serving as the 26th Secretary of the Army, sworn in on February 25, 2025, following his nomination and confirmation by President Donald J. Trump and confirmation by the United States Senate.”

The ATF tweeted on April 15 that “ATF welcomes Acting Director (AD) Daniel Driscoll to ATF. We look forward to working together to keep America safe! AD Driscoll will also continue to serve as @SecArmy. #WeAreATF”

Cheers and jeers

The National Rifle Association was thrilled with Patel being named to the role in February, tweeting on February 24: “The appointment of FBI Director Kash Patel as Acting Director of the ATF is a great first step by President Trump to reform this deeply troubled agency. For far too long, ATF has focused on how it can manipulate federal statutes to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans. We look forward to working with Acting Director Patel to protect and expand Second Amendment freedoms.”

Patel had spoken at the Gun Owners of America conference in August 2024, where he criticized Biden’s ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, calling him “a political appointee in Washington, DC who’s supposed to be in charge of our constitutional right. This guy wants to take it away. They will put in a zillion dollars behind this machinery to wipe out our rights under the Second Amendment.”

Senate Democrats attacked Patel’s role at ATF in a March letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, and House Democrats did the same in a March letter to Trump.

Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president and the senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, tweeted on February 25: “It’s official! President @realDonaldTrump has also made @Kash_Patel the Acting Director of the ATF!” He shared a screenshot of the ATF website then listing Patel as the head of the ATF.

The ATF’s Facebook and Instagram pages both shared February 24 posts saying, “ATF welcomes Acting Director Kash Patel to ATF, who was sworn in and had his first visit to ATF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. today. We are enthusiastic to work together for a safer America! #WeAreATF.” The ATF also welcomed Patel on Twitter.

Patel sent a March 24 tweet shooting down what he called a “fake news” story about the ATF, saying, “Law enforcement agents don’t answer to the media, especially the fake news. Our cops @ATFHQ answer the mission. Thank you for protecting our nation.”

The tweet included a screenshot of a “Workforce Message on the CNN Article Alleging Movement of Special Agents” sent to the ATF by “Kash Patel, Acting Director” of that bureau.

“This weekend, CNN reported news of a plan on the part of our leadership to ‘cut as many as one third’ of ATF agents and reallocate 1,000 agents over to the FBI,” Patel said in his message to the ATF. “The report even suggested our leadership team altered course after reading a news report, and ultimately backed off certain aspects of changes. This ‘report’ is entirely false.”

And an April 7 press release by the ATF included a quote from “Acting ATF Director” Kash Patel, who said, “Today’s repeal of the Zero Tolerance Policy and the comprehensive review of stabilizing brace regulations and the definition of ‘engaged in the business’ marks a pivotal step toward restoring fairness and clarity in firearms regulation. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure our policies are balanced, constitutional and protective of Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”

Biden’s failed nominee to lead the ATF — David Chipman — told The Trace, a pro-gun control website, in late February this year that he was critical of Patel being chosen to run the ATF, saying, “They have no interest in ATF actually carrying out its mission. The goal it seems is to let the agency die on the vine.”

Biden announced in April 2021 that he was picking Chipman, a prominent gun control advocate, to run the ATF. The selection got huge pushback from Second Amendment defenders.

“ATF is a significant law-enforcement agency. We mostly hear about it when it messes up, whether it’s Waco, Operation Fast and Furious, or the Chicago stash-house scandals. But day-to-day ATF plays a significant role in the legal trade of firearms in this country,” Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said during Chipman’s Senate confirmation hearing in May 2021. "Many see putting a committed gun control proponent like Mr. Chipman in charge of ATF is like putting a Tobacco executive in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services or Antifa in charge of the Portland Police Department.”

Grassley said again in August 2021 that “Mr. Chipman’s long record as a partisan, anti-Second Amendment activist raised plenty of concerns about how he’d administer federal firearms laws. But that wasn’t the only cause for concern. The record he concealed from Congress, some of which remains hidden to this day, about how he treated his fellow employees while at the ATF confirms his lack of fitness to lead the agency. The employees of the ATF and the American people deserve an ATF director who carries out the mission of the agency with respect for the Constitution and for all agency employees.”

Biden announced in September 2021 that he was withdrawing Chipman’s nomination.

Trump makes pro-Second Amendment moves

Trump issued an executive order on “Protecting Second Amendment Rights” on February 7. The Trump White House said that “the Biden Administration has flagrantly sought to eliminate Second Amendment rights” and that “among other infringements” the ATF “was weaponized to end the livelihoods of law-abiding small business owners in an effort to limit Americans’ ability to acquire firearms.”

Pamela Hicks, the Biden-era ATF chief counsel, was fired on February 20.

“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 said on LinkedIn, adding that “serving as ATF Chief Counsel has been the highest honor of my career and working with the people at ATF and throughout the Department has been a pleasure.”

Bondi confirmed to Fox News that she had fired Hicks, saying that “these people were targeting gun owners.”

Pro-Second Amendment groups like Gun Owners of America celebrated the firing of Hicks, while gun control groups like the Brady Campaign condemned it.

ATF Deputy Director Marvin Richardson led the bureau for a time early in 2025, and Senate Republicans urged him in February to “immediately align ATF’s rules and policies with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment.” Richardson reportedly resigned last week.

Bondi announced she would lead a new Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force on April 8, with representatives from the FBI, the ATF, and other elements and offices within the DOJ.

A memo in March from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly floated the idea of merging the ATF with the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to multiple news outlets.

The ATF has been mired in controversy for decades.

A report by the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees related to the Waco siege of 1993 found that “the ATF's investigation of the Branch Davidians was grossly incompetent” and that “David Koresh could have been arrested outside the Davidian compound. The ATF chose not to arrest Koresh outside the Davidian residence and instead were determined to use a dynamic entry approach. In making this decision ATF agents exercised extremely poor judgment, made erroneous assumptions, and ignored the foreseeable perils of their course of action.”

And a DOJ inspector general report on the Obama-era Operation Fast and Furious scandal “revealed a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment, and management failures that permeated ATF Headquarters and the Phoenix Field Division” and “identified individuals ranging from line agents and prosecutors in Phoenix and Tucson to senior ATF officials in Washington, D.C., who bore a share of responsibility for ATF’s knowing failure in…these operations to interdict firearms illegally destined for Mexico, and for pursuing this risky strategy without adequately taking into account the significant danger to public safety that it created.”

Reasonable overlap in goals

It is easy to see that there would have to be some overlap between Patel's role at ATF and as top cop at the FBI: Armed violence against business leaders and government employees would naturally have a foot in each department.

Patel announced late last month that he had handed over to Congress long-sought bureau records related to the 2017 congressional baseball game shooting following years of House Republicans arguing the bureau was stonewalling on why it had labeled the attack “suicide by cop” instead of domestic terrorism.

The FBI also announced in March the launch of a task force in conjunction with the ATF to coordinate investigative activity and crack down on violent attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities.

“The FBI has been investigating the increase in violent activity toward Tesla, and over the last few days, we have taken additional steps to crack down and coordinate our response,” Patel said in a tweet. “This is domestic terrorism. Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice.”

This all comes in the wake of newly-heightened concerns about law enforcement's ability to protect business leaders, candidates, judges, and others.