The second-in-command at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Marvin Richardson, resigned late Wednesday after being given the choice to step down or be removed, according to Reuters.
Richardson, a 35-year veteran of the agency, had served as deputy director since 2019 and was acting director from June 2021 to April 2022. His departure follows the replacement of acting ATF Director Kash Patel with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
No official explanation has been provided for the switch, though a Justice Department official told Reuters the decision was not linked to Patel’s job performance. Driscoll, who is currently traveling abroad, will continue serving as both Army Secretary and acting ATF director.
Patel had been appointed acting director on February 24. Prior to that, multiple sources told Reuters that Bondi had dismissed the bureau’s former chief counsel. Bondi later defended the firing in a Fox News appearance, claiming the attorney had been part of efforts to “target gun owners.”
In the aftermath, the Justice Department installed Robert Leider— a Second Amendment scholar and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas— as the bureau’s new chief counsel.
Senior Justice Department officials are weighing whether to merge the ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration as part of a cost-cutting initiative.
