Democrats ask Trump to remove Patel as acting ATF director
Source: The Hill
03/18/25 4:22 PM ET
A group of Democrats are calling on President Trump to remove FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Fourteen Democratic members of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), expressed “grave concerns” over Patel’s leadership position at the agency in a letter to Trump dated March 3 and shared on social media by Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday.
“As you are aware, ATF is the lead law enforcement agency responsible for addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country. At a time when gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director,” the Democrats wrote.
The president named Patel to serve as acting head of the domestic law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice late last month. Patel previously held various positions within the department and was confirmed by the Senate to lead the FBI, despite controversy over his qualifications and staunch support for Trump.
The former ATF director, Steve Dettelbach, resigned from his position in January. He was the first permanent leader for the agency since 2015. The agency works to divert trafficking of illegal weapons and drugs. The Democrats noted that during Trump’s first term, gun homicide rates rose by 34 percent. Since the Biden-era Safer Communities Act passed in a bipartisan manner in 2022, there has been a “historic reduction” in gun violence, they wrote.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5201512-democrats-ask-trump-remove-kash-patel-atf-acting-director/
Rep. Dan Goldman posted the letter (Xitter version) -
Link to tweet
@RepDanGoldman
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Under Trump 1.0, gun homicides rose 34%.
Now he’s appointed @FBIDirectorKash, a reckless opponent of commonsense gun laws, to head the agency protecting us from gun violence–the ATF.
I joined @RepThompson in urging Trump to reverse this dangerous pick and protect our families.
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11:33 AM · Mar 18, 2025
Threads version -
(not finding it on Blue Sky although he has a couple accounts)