FBI Director Kash Patel will no longer fill the position as interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll tapped to take over. Sources familiar with the decision said no explanation was provided for the change.
Driscoll will now lead both the ATF and the Army, continuing the dual-role structure Patel previously held as FBI director and acting ATF chief. While uncommon, the Trump administration has not clarified the rationale behind maintaining this arrangement.
President Trump has yet to name a permanent nominee for the ATF role and has offered no indication of whether he plans to. A memo circulated last month by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche proposed merging the ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
Last month, Patel also announced plans to reassign 150 ATF agents from their regular posts to focus on border-related operations.
Driscoll, confirmed by the Senate in February, leads the Army’s more than 400,000 active-duty personnel and is responsible for shaping recruitment and operational policy. A veteran of the Iraq War, he has pledged to modernize the Army and steer it toward advanced military readiness.
