Brady Reacts to Removal of Kash Patel as Interim ATF Director; Warns of Appointment of Army Secretary Driscoll

This abrupt move continues the chaos and confusion that continues to mire an agency dedicated to curbing the gun violence epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 9, 2025 — Today, FBI Director and Interim Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kash Patel has been removed from his role as leader of the ATF and is being replaced with Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll. 

This leadership shake-up comes in the wake of President Trump’s executive order to “dismantle gun control” and is part of Trump’s quiet but consistent agenda to erode policies to reduce gun violence, including rolling back the ATF “Zero Tolerance” policy to hold gun dealers accountable for breaking the law, restoring gun rights to violent criminals, and slashing ATF resources to oversee the gun industry. 

Kris Brown, president of Brady, said: 

Human lives are not a ping pong game, but this Administration has repeatedly demonstrated otherwise — even when it comes to gun violence, the number one killer of kids in this country. Given that America has more gun dealers than Starbucks and McDonalds, overseeing the gun industry is not a part-time gig. Yet it will be treated as such with yet another split-focused, likely absentee leader who threatens to further warp ATF’s mandate. Appointing Army Secretary Discroll also puts us on a slippery slope of the military overseeing law enforcement.

This shuffling of ATF leadership is chaos purely for the sake of chaos – otherwise, the public might figure out that Trump has prioritized his friends in the gun industry over our rights not to be shot.

Brady condemns this move and calls for the installation of permanent, dedicated ATF leadership committed to protecting public safety, not gun industry profits.