A New Number Two Takes the Helm at ATF

The personnel merry-go-round at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is still ongoing, but there’s no longer a vacancy in the number two slot at the agency. After the resignation of Deputy Director Marvin Richardson last week, we speculated whether the Trump administration would replace him with an outsider or if they would look in-house for his replacement, and now we know the answer. 

On Tuesday, Robert Cekada was officially named as Deputy Director, a promotion from his previous stint as the Executive Assistant Director of Operations, a position he held since September, 2022. 

From January 2022 to September 2022, Mr. Cekada served as the Deputy Assistant Director Central, Field Operation, where he was responsible for operational and regulatory oversight of the 19 States located within the central region of the United States. Previously, he served as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Miami Field Division, where he was responsible for oversight of all ATF criminal enforcement and regulatory operations in 21 offices located across southern Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He also served as the SAC of the Baltimore Field Division, overseeing criminal enforcement and regulatory operations in Maryland and Delaware. Prior to that assignment, Mr. Cekada served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Field Division and the Resident Agent in Charge of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force North in the Miami Field Division. He also serves as a board member on the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board and on the IACP Firearms Committee.

Mr. Cekada began his ATF career as a Special Agent in the Baltimore Field Division’s Hyattsville II Field Office, working on the Regional Area Gang Enforcement Task Force from 2005 to 2011. From there, he joined the Tampa Field Division for two years before reporting to ATF headquarters in 2013, initially as a project officer in the Firearms Operations Division’s Frontline Branch, and then as a program manager serving as a special assistant to senior leaders.

Prior to joining ATF, Mr. Cekada served as a local law enforcement officer with two agencies. From 1992 to 2000, he was a police officer with the New York City Police Department. He was assigned to the Housing Bureau, Citywide Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit, and the Street Crime Unit, where he was promoted to detective. After joining the Organized Crime Control Bureau’s Gang Division, he focused his efforts on gun violence attributed to gang activity. Mr. Cekada then joined the City of Plantation Police Department in Broward County, Florida, where he served with the Patrol Division and Special Weapons and Tactics Team from 2001 to 2005.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents the firearms industry, was quick to praise Cekada as Trump’s choice as the ATF’s Number Two, pointing to his extensive history going after violent criminals and his respect for the right to keep and bear arms. 

“Deputy Director Cekada has the experience, wisdom and respect of his colleagues to effectively lead the men and women of the ATF,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Deputy Director Cekada respects the Second Amendment and understands that the firearm industry is not the ‘enemy’ but valuable partner that assists ATF in its core mission of combatting violent crime. Firearm retailers are on the front lines helping to prevent the criminal acquisition of firearms. They are a vital source of information to ATF special agents on illegal straw purchasing of firearms.”

As a Special Agent-in-Charge, Deputy Director Cekada has been on the ground with the firearm industry to promote public awareness to stop these crimes from occurring and has the career history of working with the firearm industry to ensure law-abiding citizens can exercise their Second Amendment rights.

The fact that Cekada has already established a good working relationship with the firearms industry is a good sign, and I’ve heard from sources who have knowledge of the ATF’s day-to-day operations that he was instrumental in getting rid of the “zero tolerance” policy on gun dealers that Richardson continued to enforce even after Steve Dettelbach resigned as ATF Director when Trump assumed office for his second term. 

The future of the ATF may still be in doubt, with some lawmakers pushing to abolish the agency, but the rules and regulations it enforces will still be on the books regardless of whether the ATF’s functions are directly taken over by DOJ. Cekada’s appointment as Deputy Director may signal that the Trump administration is looking to reform, rather than replace the ATF, and Cekada’s long history with the agency should give him the institutional knowledge needed to work with Acting Director Daniel Driscoll to effect those reforms. In fact, with Driscoll still serving as Secretary of the Army in addition to heading up the ATF on a temporary basis, I suspect that Cekada will be taking the lead in dismantling the Biden administration’s anti-2A policies and putting the ATF’s focus on violent criminals and gun traffickers instead of average, everyday Americans exercising their right to keep and bear arms.