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DOGE enters ATF with mandate to slash gun regulations
The agency is working with the ATF general counsel to cut upwards of 50 regulations as the administration drastically reduces the number of inspectors.
The U.S. DOGE Service has sent staff to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the goal of revising or eliminating dozens of rules and gun restrictions by July 4, according to multiple people with knowledge of the efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public.
The initial target was to change 47 regulations, an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s status as the 47th president of the United States, two of the people said. But ATF and DOGE staffers are now poised to exceed that goal, with upward of 50 changes planned.
The revisions are part of a seismic shift unfolding at ATF as the Trump administration proposes slashing the law enforcement agency’s budget and dramatically reducing the number of inspectors who ensure that gun sellers are in compliance with federal laws. Some Republicans in Congress have called for abolishing the agency altogether, and Attorney General Pam Bondi has said she wants to merge ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
If the plans are enacted, it would be a major win for pro-gun advocacy groups, who have long claimed ATF is an agency with too many gun regulations that tramples on Second Amendment rights. Gun-control advocates fear that the changes afoot at ATF will more easily allow potentially dangerous people to obtain weapons with little recourse.
