FBI Director Kash Patel Chosen to Lead ATF as Acting Director
President Donald Trump has reportedly selected FBI Director Kash Patel to also serve as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), according to unnamed sources confirmed by NewsNation and Fox News on Saturday evening.
The appointment of Patel to lead the ATF comes just one day after he was sworn in to lead the FBI.
In a recent report, Fox News stated, “Former FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned at the end of former President Biden’s term, and Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF general counsel, Pamela Hicks, on Thursday.”
On Thursday, Hicks announced on her LinkedIn profile, “Earlier today, I was served official notice from the Attorney General of the United States that I was being removed from my position as the Chief Counsel of ATF and my employment with the Department of Justice terminated.”
“Serving as ATF Chief Counsel has been the highest honor of my career and working with the people at ATF and throughout the Department has been a pleasure,” Hicks continued. She had been the ATF’s chief counsel since 2021 and deputy chief counsel during the first Trump administration.
According to Bondi, the individuals dismissed from the ATF were allegedly targeting gun owners, a practice that will not be tolerated under the new administration. Bondi stated, “These people were targeting gun owners. Not gonna happen under this administration.”
Patel has not made any public statements regarding his new role.
