Patel plans major cutback to ATF by moving many as 1,000 agents to FBI
The move represents a major cutback of the ATF, an agency that long has been in the crosshairs of gun rights groups that believe its work infringes on 2nd Amendment rights. The ATF has about 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a number that has remained largely unchanged for years.
The move is expected to begin with the reassignment of a couple hundred ATF agents to border-related criminal enforcement duty as FBI agents, one person briefed on the matter said.
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.
Spokespersons for the FBI and Justice Department didn't respond to requests for comment.
President Donald Trump chose Patel to overhaul the FBI, which has just under 14,000 agents and 38,000 employees. Patel was later announced as the acting ATF director. Getting ATF directors confirmed in the Senate is often a difficult task, in both Democratic and Republican administrations. The prospect of Patel running both agencies stoked speculation over whether Trump plans to merge at least part of ATF with the FBI.
The idea of merging at least part of ATF into FBI or other agencies isn't a new one. Previous administrations have considered it. Joe Biden as vice president floated the idea in discussions about a task force that was set up to tackle mass shootings and gun crime in the Obama administration.
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