Brady Responds to Nomination of New ATF Director

Nominee Robert Cekada is a 20-year veteran of ATF, with over 30 years of experience in law enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 19, 2025 — This week, the U.S. Senate received the nomination of Robert  Cekada to be the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from the Trump administration. Cekada is currently the Deputy Director of ATF.

 Josh Scharff, Brady General Counsel and Director of Programs, said:

Every federal agency deserves a Senate-confirmed leader who believes in the mission and takes the job with the utmost seriousness. To fulfill its mission of enhancing public safety, ATF’s mandate states: ‘To curb the illegal use of firearms and enforce the Federal firearms laws, ATF issues firearms licenses and conducts firearms licensee qualification and compliance inspections.’ But in the past 9 months, the Trump administration's actions have directly contradicted the ATF’s mission – by impairing industry oversight, diverting resources from gun crime and trafficking investigations to immigration enforcement, scaling back on transparency, and repealing rules that were keeping communities safe. 

Brady looks forward to learning more about Deputy Director Cekada’s strategic vision and plan for the only federal agency responsible for oversight and accountability of the gun industry. We are eager to hear from the nominee how he intends to get ATF back on track to accomplish its mission and do what’s needed to keep American families safe.