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President Donald Trump’s new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Kash Patel, is also expected to be named as the leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a Justice Department official said Saturday.
Patel could be sworn in to lead the agency this week in a surprising change following his new role over the FBI, ABC News first reported.
The decision to have Patel take on a dual role follows U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s dismissal of the ATF’s general counsel, Pamela Hicks, on Thursday.
Bondi explained that the firing was due to the agency’s top lawyer “targeting gun owners.” Hicks had served as the deputy chief counsel for the ATF during Trump’s first term and was the agency’s chief counsel under the Biden administration.
“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,” Hicks wrote on Thursday, The New York Post reported.
“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 in her post. “I thank my colleagues for their friendship and partnership over the years.”
Trump nominated Patel for the position in November as grassroots supporters pushed the #KashOnly campaign on X.
“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote.
“He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution. Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council,” he continued.
