Democrats ask Trump to remove Patel as acting ATF director

A group of Democrats are calling on President Trump to remove FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Fourteen Democratic members of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), expressed "grave concerns" over Patel's leadership position at the agency in a letter to Trump dated March 3 and shared on social media by Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday.

“As you are aware, ATF is the lead law enforcement agency responsible for addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country. At a time when gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, 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,” the Democrats wrote.

The president named Patel to serve as acting head of the domestic law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice late last month. Patel previously held various positions within the department and was confirmed by the Senate to lead the FBI, despite controversy over his qualifications and staunch support for Trump.

The former ATF director, Steve Dettelbach, resigned from his position in January. He was the first permanent leader for the agency since 2015.

The agency works to divert trafficking of illegal weapons and drugs.

The Democrats noted that during Trump’s first term, gun homicide rates rose by 34 percent. Since the Biden-era Safer Communities Act passed in a bipartisan manner in 2022, there has been a “historic reduction” in gun violence, they wrote.

They noted that the ATF plays a critical role in state and local investigations and the agency must continue to support other law enforcement arms.

“Running ATF is a deadly serious job. Naming an unqualified partisan to oversee our federal gun violence prevention laws is a disservice to the American people and offensive to every American child who has grown up fearful of gun violence in their schools and communities,” the Democrats wrote.

“We urge you to name a qualified director at ATF who will faithfully administer laws that keep Americans safe,” they concluded.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

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