ATF Official Confirms Plans to Reassign Hundreds of Agents to FBI

FBI Director and Acting ATF Director Kash Patel is planning to move hundreds of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents to new duties at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to CNN.

CNN’s report claims that the move “is expected to begin with the reassignment of a couple hundred ATF agents to border-related criminal enforcement duty as FBI agents,” according to one unnamed source who supposedly has access to Patel’s plan. But the news outlet also claims that the restructuring may be undergoing some revisions since its first report was broadcast.

An ATF spokeswoman disputed that the agents were being reassigned to the FBI and said in a statement Saturday that as a part of the ATF and FBI’s plans to address issues at the southern border, “the ATF will temporarily assign approximately 150 agents from existing field offices to other ATF field offices, where they will continue serving as ATF agents to support the surge initiative.”

“It is important to clarify that this is a temporary reassignment of resources to bolster public safety and combat criminal organizations more effectively. Additionally, ATF routinely initiates surge operations in cities across the country facing significant increases in violent crime,” ATF spokeswoman Ashlee J L Sherrill said in a statement to CNN. “These targeted operations are a proven strategy to disrupt criminal activity, apprehend offenders, and support local law enforcement efforts.”

But eventually as many as 1,000 ATF agents would be given temporary reassignments as FBI agents, though with no end date for the reassignment, the person said.

While gun control groups are sure to complain about Trump and Patel dismantling the ATF, as CNN reported, “the idea of merging at least part of ATF into FBI or other agencies isn’t a new one.” The outlet reminded readers and views that even Joe Biden suggested the move “in discussions about a task force that was set up to tackle mass shootings and gun crime in the Obama administration.” 

Based on Sherill’s comments, this appears to be less of an attempt to engage in a widespread reform the ATF and more of an effort to bolster law enforcement boots on the ground in border states like Arizona and Texas, with the agents serving in a supporting role for President Trump’s push to secure the border and stop illegal immigration. It’s unclear what role reassigned agents would play in the “targeted operations” Sherill mentioned, but it could easily include operations that already fall under the ATF’s purview like investigating any straw purchases or illegal gun trafficking involving cartel members or illegal immigrants. 

At this point, Patel’s plan doesn’t sound like cause for celebration for Second Amendment advocates or consternation among gun control activists, though the anti-gunners are going to try to spin this as a gift to the gun industry on the part of the Trump administration that will take agents away from dealer inspections and criminal investigations. And it’s possible that the plan doesn’t come to fruition at all, or undergoes some major revisions along the way. We’ll have to wait and see what exactly comes of the move, as well as what it means for the agency on a long-term basis.