CNN: “Patel plans major cutback to ATF by moving as many as 1,000 agents to FBI.” Why this makes sense from a policy perspective.
The spending bill that just passed Congress changed government spending from a line item spending to lump sums by cabinet department generally. This allows Kash Patel and Pam Bondi to transfer staff from enforcement in ATF (as opposed to handling licensing) to protecting the border and other FBI law enforcement actions. I suspect that the ATF agents, particularly those going to the FBI, will view this as a promotion. There is no way that Republicans can overcome a filibuster by Senate Democrats, so it will be impossible to abolish the ATF, and there is no evidence of any move by Republicans to do so. Still, having enforcement agents spread across so many different agencies makes no sense. When you have enforcement agents in an agency that is viewed as inferior, they may occasionally go too far in trying to show that they are as important as the other agency.
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FBI Director Kash Patel, who also serves as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has outlined plans to move as many as 1,000 ATF agents to the FBI, cutting ATF’s agents by more than a third, three people briefed on the plan told CNN.
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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 Second Amendment rights. The ATF has about 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a number that has remained largely unchanged for years.
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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. . . .
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The prospect of Patel running both agencies stoked speculation over whether Trump plans to merge at least part of ATF with the FBI.
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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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