U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll has taken over as interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, one of numerous law enforcement agencies overseen by the Justice Department, three U.S. officials confirmed to USA TODAY.
According to two Defense sources, Driscoll is now in charge of the ATF while continuing to serve as Army secretary. A Justice Department spokesman confirmed Driscoll’s replacement of Patel but declined to comment on the reasons for the personnel change, according to USA Today.
Patel, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, was sworn in as acting head of the ATF in late February, just days after being sworn in as director of the FBI. Reuters was the first to report the news.
It is unknown when Patel will be removed from his position. As of 4 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday afternoon, Patel’s photo and title of interim director remained on the ATF’s website.
The rapid change in leadership comes as senior Justice Department officials consider merging ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration to save money.
Driscoll, the 26th Army Secretary, was sworn in on February 25, following Trump’s nomination and Senate confirmation.
Driscoll was commissioned as an armor commander in 2007, and his Army biography states that he headed a cavalry unit in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division that deployed to Baghdad in 2009.
After leaving active military, Driscoll attended Yale Law School and worked at the Veterans Legal Services Clinic. Driscoll’s bio does not mention any federal law enforcement expertise, despite having held executive positions in investment banking, private equity, and corporate operations.
Driscoll will lead the ATF, which has vast authority to enforce laws and regulations governing firearms, explosives, and tobacco products.
The FBI has been marching ahead of Patel’s leadership.
In Patel’s first full month in charge, the bureau has received a record number of applications for new agents. The number of people looking for jobs in law enforcement has more than doubled the monthly average since 2016.
Fox News Digital reported that 5,577 new applications for FBI agents were sent in March. The last time that number was even close to that in a month was April 2016, when 5,283 applications came in.
According to FBI data looked at by Fox News Digital, the average number of applications per month in 2023 was 2,797, and the average number of applications per month in 2024 was 3,383.
“Director Patel and Deputy Director (Dan) Bongino have put a major emphasis on restoring confidence in federal law enforcement and boosting new agent recruiting. These record early returns certainly suggest the new FBI is heading in the right direction,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Wednesday.
Records from the FBI show that since January, they have received more than 10,000 applications for new agents.
The FBI got 4,143 applications to join in January, the first month of the Trump administration and the month of Patel’s nomination and confirmation hearing. This was the first month since August 2020 that the FBI got that many applications for a new agent.
“The record number of FBI job applications in March shows that people are inspired by Kash Patel’s commitment to restoring integrity and effectiveness at the bureau,” Patel advisor Erica Knight told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Americans are putting their trust in his leadership to rebuild the FBI and keep our communities safe.”
“Kash is dedicated to creating a stronger, more trusted FBI that serves the American people the way it was always meant to,” Knight said.
During his Senate confirmation hearing in late January, Patel illustrated the “erosion of trust” at the bureau, pointing to polling revealing that “only 40% of Americans hold a favorable view of the FBI.”
“This must change,” Patel testified. “Public cooperation is vital for the bureau to solve crimes, and its declining reputation is already affecting recruitment efforts.”
Patel and Bongino have put a lot of effort into hiring new agents and boosting morale among police officers by “letting good cops be cops.” This is why there are a record number of applications.
In March, Patel put out an FBI recruitment video that showed the director working with agents in the field and displaying footage from the hostage rescue team facility that asked people to join the team.
The video ends with a graphic showing the FBI seal and the words, “A renewed mission. A stronger future.”
“Apply today at FBIJobs.gov,” the video says.