The Trump administration swapped out its high-profile acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), FBI Director Kash Patel, for its lesser-known Army secretary on Wednesday.
The White House and Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the ATF, have been tight-lipped about what prompted the administrative shuffle.
Reuters was the first to report the changeover Wednesday, but the newswire noted it was unclear when Patel was formally removed or when Dan Driscoll, the top civilian official in the Army, was notified that he would be taking over ATF duties.
As news of Patel’s removal was made public, his photo and title still appeared on the agency’s website. Both have since been removed. Driscoll’s name is now listed as acting director, but the places for his photo and full biographical information say “coming soon.”
Driscoll is a former Army first lieutenant and businessman who previously served as a senior adviser to Vice President Vance.
Why was Patel removed?
NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian reported Wednesday that ATF officials were “shocked and confused” by the shake-up, but added that sources told him it had been weeks since Patel was seen inside an ATF facility.
Patel, who has not commented on the ATF switch-up, posted Wednesday evening on social platform X that he had spent the day in Florida for an FBI event. He has since posted praise for Attorney General Pam Bondi’s leadership at the DOJ regarding the FBI’s efforts and encouraged followers to apply for jobs at the FBI.
According to Reuters, Patel spent about an hour at ATF headquarters in February after he was sworn in for the second job, but he had not been seen at its main office since.
Patel is seen as a fiercely loyal ally of Trump and was a divisive pick to lead the FBI. And he was not well received by some ATF veterans.
“It’s pretty demoralizing,” Mark Jones, a former ATF special agent, told The Trace in February. “This guy doesn’t like the ATF and doesn’t believe in firearms regulation. I just see him coming in with a wrecking ball.”
Democrats on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force last month urged President Trump to replace Patel at the ATF, writing, “it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director.”
A Justice Department spokesperson told Reuters Patel was not dismissed due to job performance.
“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 spokesperson Harrison Fields said in an email to Reuters.
“Director Patel is now excelling in his role at the FBI and delivering outstanding results.”
Bondi announces ‘Second Amendment Task Force’
The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) official account on X shared a post from a Reuters reporter about Patel’s removal.
The next post from the NRA account was about a new “Second Amendment Task Force” that Bondi announced Wednesday. The NRA hailed the move as an example of the administration continuing to “deliver on its promise to defend Americans’ 2A rights.”
Bondi wrote in a memo about the task force’s creation that she would chair it, and it would include representation from several agencies in the DOJ, including the ATF. She did not mention Patel.
“The prior administration placed an undue burden on gun owners and vendors by targeting law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Bondi said in a statement about the new group.
“The Department of Justice’s new Second Amendment Task Force will combine department-wide policy and litigation resources to advance President Trump’s pro-gun agenda and protect gun owners from overreach.”
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