Summary
Kash Patel has been removed as acting ATF director after reportedly not appearing at ATF facilities for weeks, while maintaining his FBI Director role.
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll will now serve in both his current position and as ATF acting director.
ATF staff were “shocked and confused” by the sudden change, which officials tried to claim was due to Patel’s full workload at the FBI rather than performance issues.
The leadership shuffle comes as DOJ officials consider merging the ATF with the DEA to reduce costs.
They aren’t really trying to hide their failings with anything more than words. They don’t really care what anyone thinks of their performance. And most believe any mistakes are the cost of progress. Besides, if they could orchestrate a crisis that doesn’t obviously come from their own actions, they wouldn’t be failing as much.