Press Releases

Kennedy Demands Accountability on Dangerous Proposals to Undermine Public Safety

BUFFALO, NY – Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) led 47 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Acting ATF Director Daniel Driscoll and Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Trump administration to reverse harmful efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to weaken the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and upend critical federal gun regulations. 

According to recent reports, DOGE has made efforts to curb gun enforcement at the federal level, rolling back more than 50 regulations governing the sale and tracking of firearms. These changes include loosening background check requirements, ending oversight of problematic firearm dealers, and weakening rules designed to prevent straw purchases. Kennedy and fellow lawmakers raised alarm that this administration’s efforts to weaken ATF’s enforcement capabilities “strains already limited federal resources, encourages unlawful gun ownership, emboldens bad actors, and risks public safety in a nation fraught with gun violence.” 

With nearly 46,000 people killed by guns annually in the U.S., Kennedy stressed the urgent need for “this administration to reverse course on efforts to loosen, weaken, and undermine the primary federal agency responsible for keeping Americans safe from gun violence.”

The text of the letter is below: 

Daniel Driscoll

Acting Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

99 New York Avenue NE

Washington, D.C. 20226

The Honorable Pam Bondi

Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Acting Director Driscoll and Attorney General Bondi,

We write with serious concerns regarding reports of restructuring at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and efforts to dismantle federal gun regulations. As communities across the U.S. continue to suffer from the scourge of gun violence, the Trump administration must immediately reverse plans to weaken the ATF and its ability to enforce our nation’s gun laws. 

As you know, ATF serves as a critical law enforcement agency for the Department of Justice in enforcing gun regulations, investigating firearms trafficking, ensuring federal firearm licensee (FFL) compliance, and coordinating with state and local law enforcement to conduct investigations. Since its founding in 1972, ATF’s responsibilities and jurisdiction have evolved, taking an increasingly central role in crime prevention. The agency has become critical in developing criminal cases for prosecution, cracking down on ghost gun production, and holding nefarious gun dealers accountable for breaking the law. As the gun violence epidemic in the U.S. has worsened, ATF agents and staff have proven essential to criminal investigations, providing over 221,000 investigative leads in Fiscal Year 2023 using ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center tracing systems. With the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, ATF was empowered to expand anti-straw purchasing campaigns, conduct increased oversight of those engaged in dealing firearms, and help law enforcement track down stolen weapons.

According to recent reports, the Trump administration’s embattled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken aim at ATF in efforts to curb enforcement of gun regulations, inhibiting the agency’s ability to conduct firearms-related investigations. This includes changing a reported 50 regulations, such as loosening background check requirements, ending policies designed to conduct oversight on problematic FFLs, and promoting policies that encourage the reinstatement of revoked FFL licenses. We are deeply concerned by reports that the Trump administration is working to shorten forms that most gun purchasers are required to fill out, and is considering eliminating important questions about mental fitness for ownership. The ATF should operate in a manner that respects lawful, responsible ownership while simultaneously improving, not reversing, regulations that prevent dangerous individuals from possessing a firearm. DOGE’s efforts to strip ATF of its oversight role, under the false pretense of “partnership with the firearms industry” and promoting efficiency, strains already limited federal resources, encourages unlawful gun ownership, emboldens bad actors, and risks public safety in a nation fraught with gun violence. 

These dangerous actions by DOGE are compounded by the administration’s proposals to slash ATF’s budget by $468 million, reduce its ability to regulate the firearms industry by 40 percent, cut more than 500 gun store inspectors, and consolidate the agency within an already overburdened Drug Enforcement Administration. As the only federal agency with the authority to trace crime guns, ATF has historically faced delays in gun tracing requests due to federal prohibitions that block ATF from modernizing its databases. This only stands to worsen with a smaller budget, fewer staff, and an undermined mission that will lead to the increased flow of illegal firearms, reversing gains made by the Biden administration and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. 

On average, 46,000 people are killed by guns each year in the U.S. At a time when the scourge of gun violence shows no signs of slowing down, we urge this administration to reverse course on efforts to loosen, weaken, and undermine the primary federal agency responsible for keeping Americans safe from gun violence.

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