The Trump administration has already ushered in much needed change at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). In an important move, Robert Leider has been appointed as the bureau’s chief counsel.
Leider, who will also serve as assistant director of the ATF, is a Second Amendment legal expert and professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. He has an extensive written record that demonstrates his adherence to the U.S. Constitution. Prior to his tenure at George Mason, he also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has authored numerous staunch defenses of the Second Amendment at the highest level, including the majority opinion in the landmark case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
This move comes less than a month after Trump administration officials notified Pamela Hicks, former ATF chief counsel, that she was relieved of her duties. Hicks was appointed to the position by then-President Joe Biden (D) in 2021 and had previously served as deputy chief counsel before that.
Under Biden, the ATF was weaponized against not only law-abiding gun owners, but also against gun stores. Such is why Biden nominated not one, but two gun-control advocates, David Chipman and Steve Dettelbach, to lead the ATF, the latter of which was confirmed as director by a narrow U.S. Senate vote.
Some of the ATF’s actions under Dettelbach’s leadership, with Hicks’ counsel, include the “zero-tolerance” policy of Federal Firearm Licensee oversight, its overreaching rules on pistol braces and much more.
Dettelbach stepped down from his post a few days before Trump took office. Dettelbach has since been replaced by FBI Director Kash Patel, who was named ATF acting director by President Trump.
“The appointment of FBI Director [Kash Patel] as Acting Director of the ATF is a great first step by President Trump to reform this deeply troubled agency. For far too long, ATF has focused on how it can manipulate federal statutes to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans. We look forward to working with Acting director Patel to protect and expand Second Amendment freedoms,” posted the NRA on X.
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