Well, this is going to send the gun control crowd into a full-blown meltdown. Kash Patel, the newly confirmed FBI director and a known Trump loyalist, is reportedly set to take over the ATF—at least in an acting capacity.
This is the same ATF that spent the Biden years pushing every regulatory gun grab it could dream up, from banning stabilizing braces to making life harder for gun owners who dare to sell a firearm or two. And now, the guy stepping in is someone who actually believes in the Second Amendment. You can already hear the collective gasp from the Washington Post editorial board.
The ATF under Biden wasn’t just enforcing laws—it was making them up as it went, sidestepping Congress to impose stricter gun controls without a single vote. Take the so-called “ghost gun” crackdown, the “engaged in the business” rule expanding background checks, and the infamous pistol brace ban, which turned millions of law-abiding gun owners into potential felons overnight. It’s no wonder Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Eric Burlison, have been calling to shut the entire agency down. His bill, H.R. 221, would do just that—eliminate what many see as an unconstitutional regulatory agency that exists solely to chip away at the right to bear arms.
🚨 #BREAKING: President Trump is expected to appoint Kash Patel to Acting Director of the ATF in addition to his role as FBI Director, per ABC
The ATF’s days are NUMBERED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DVlfb6ltY4
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 22, 2025
Steven Dettelbach, the Biden-appointed ATF director who oversaw these regulatory overreaches, saw the writing on the wall and got out while he could, resigning just two days before Trump was sworn in. Clearly, he didn’t want to be around when the new administration started rolling back his work. And it looks like they’re wasting no time—Attorney General Pam Bondi has already fired ATF General Counsel Pamela Hicks, accusing her of “targeting gun owners.” That’s right—one of the key architects behind Biden’s war on the Second Amendment is now out of a job. That sound you hear? That’s the sound of gun owners across America cheering.
Of course, the usual suspects in the media are clutching their pearls over Patel’s appointment. “But he’s never been an ATF agent!” they cry, as if that’s somehow a requirement. Funny, they didn’t seem to mind when Biden appointed anti-gun activists to run the ATF. But Patel’s real crime, in their eyes, isn’t his résumé—it’s his political alignment. He’s an unapologetic supporter of gun rights and a featured speaker at the Gun Owners of America conference. That alone is enough to send the left into a frenzy.
Also, Trump’s making other changes:
“Layered incompetence is intent” Bongino
President Trump has just named Dan Bongino as Deputy Director of the FBI
Bongino joins Kash Patel
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/k4fKtua6b0
— Culture War (@CultureWar2020) February 24, 2025
Trump is already making it clear that Biden’s ATF regulations are under review. That means all of those executive overreaches—the pistol brace ban, the expanded background check rule, the restrictions on so-called ghost guns—are on the chopping block. And with Patel stepping in, you can bet the ATF’s days of acting as Biden’s personal gun control task force are numbered.
The reality is that the ATF has long been a thorn in the side of law-abiding gun owners, operating more like a regulatory hit squad than a legitimate law enforcement agency. With Patel at the helm, even temporarily, the balance is shifting. The Biden administration weaponized the ATF to go after the Second Amendment. The Trump administration is making it clear: those days are over.
