In one of her first acts as Attorney General, Pam Bondi ordered an apparent reshuffling of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
As part of a memo outlining the Trump Administration’s approach to charging and sentencing, Bondi ordered the ATF to deprioritize some enforcement efforts. Instead, she told the agency to focus resources on areas ranging from immigration enforcement to human trafficking and transnational gangs. However, she also told them not to deprioritize firearms regulations.
“To free resources to address more pressing priorities, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) shall shift resources from its Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Programs to focus on matters relating to the other priorities set forth herein,” Bondi said in the memo. “No resources shall be diverted from the ATF’s regulatory responsibilities, such as federal firearms licenses and background checks.”
The move comes after Trump reportedly expanded ATF agents’s authority to enforce immigration law. It shows the Trump Administration’s willingness to fundamentally change the makeup and mission of federal law enforcement agencies. It is also the first indication of how Bondi may approach gun policy as AG and another indication that the priorities of gun-rights activists are secondary to other interests in the new administration, such as an immigration crackdown.
Bondi, who faced opposition from some gun-rights activists over her history of backing stricter gun laws, such as “Red Flag” laws and broader age restrictions for gun purchases, was confirmed as AG with full Republican support on Wednesday. She described herself as “pro-Second Amendment” during her confirmation. However, she also qualified her position on gun policy by pointing to her experience responding to mass shootings.
“I am pro-Second Amendment. I have always been pro-Second Amendment,” she said. “I will follow the laws of my state of Florida and our country, of course. Regarding any gun laws, I worked that shooting, meaning I was there when 17 family members were notified–I was there–that their children were murdered. Also, Pulse Nightclub. I also went to Nevada to help with the MGM shooting. The Attorney General at the time asked me to come out there. I believe over 60 people were murdered there.”
Gun Owners of America, which backed Trump in the 2024 election alongside most other gun-rights groups, said it hoped to work with Bondi in her new role. However, it also warned it would be watching how she performs.
“Gun owners have seen firsthand how an anti-gun Attorney General can abuse their power to undermine the Constitution,” Erich Pratt, the group’s senior vice president, said in a statement. “Pam Bondi’s confirmation is a stark reminder that we must stay vigilant to ensure she defends, rather than dismantles, our God-given rights.”
The memo, first published by Politico, lays out the administration’s basic logic for how it plans to pursue law enforcement over the next four years. It focuses on a few key areas. Those include immigration, drug enforcement, and violence against law enforcement–even though Donald Trump pardoned a slew of January 6th rioters who were convicted of assaulting police as one of his first acts in office.
“The Nation faces historic threats from widespread illegal immigration, dangerous cartels, transnational organized crime, gangs, human trafficking and smuggling, fentanyl and opioids, violence against law enforcement, terrorism, hostile nation states, and other sources,” Bondi said in the memo. “This section describes the Department’s priorities and guidance in addressing these threats, including by revising previous priorities to make additional resources available.”
However, the memo doesn’t give a detailed rundown of how much of the plan will be implemented. It doesn’t outline how the ATF is meant to shift its resources away from its traditional operations to these new priorities. Nor does it address what, if anything, will be done to enforce federal laws governing alcohol and tobacco moving forward or who will be responsible for those tasks.
The ATF is also still operating without a director, even an acting one. President Trump has not yet named a nominee for a permanent director and may not ever do so. The agency appears to currently be run by deputy director Marvin Richardson, who was previously the acting director during the early years of the Biden Administration, but the agency hasn’t responded to requests from The Reload to confirm that.
However, the memo promises to flush out the administration’s plan down the line.
“Further detailed guidance regarding these priorities, and others, will follow,” Bondi said.
