Career agent confirmed to lead ATF despite GOP’s past push for the agency’s elimination

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed, 59-39, Robert Cekada, a career federal law enforcement officer, as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an agency that has historically attracted the GOP’s ire. 

Cekada has been serving as the ATF’s deputy director for about a year. He joined the agency in 2005 as a special agent and has been promoted several times. Cekada is also a member of the Senior Executive Service. 

“He knows how to lead the bureau because he’s tirelessly worked throughout the chain of command,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said during Cekada’s February confirmation hearing. 

The new director's nomination was supported on Wednesday by all present Republicans as well as seven Senate Democrats. 

At the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the Justice Department recommended folding ATF into the Drug Enforcement Administration. Some congressional Republicans have proposed eliminating the agency, arguing that its work to combat the illegal use of firearms infringes on gun rights. 

During his confirmation hearing, however, Cekada said that abolishing or defunding ATF would have “a negative impact on America’s communities” and that, pursuant to a Trump executive order, the agency is reviewing its regulations to assess any encroachments on the Second Amendment. 

“ATF’s mission is not to burden lawful gun owners or undermine the Second Amendment. The right to keep and bear arms is a constitutional guarantee, and I'm committed to protecting and preserving it,” he said. “I am equally committed to supporting the men and women of ATF. They deserve clear mission focus, strong leadership, modern tools and accountability at every level.”

Cekada later added that he’s “worked with practically every ATF agent that's actually out here making cases, we all know each other.”

Dan Driscoll has been the acting ATF director while concurrently serving as Army secretary. 

Cekada testified that there are about 2,400 ATF agents and that the Trump administration has directed the agency to increase that number to 3,000.

Like other federal law enforcement agencies, ATF has reassigned officers to support the administration’s mass deportation efforts. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found in a fall 2025 analysis that the agency had sent nearly 30% of its total employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Cekada told lawmakers that only about 100 ATF agents are working on immigration enforcement. While he said that the reassignments are in alignment with the agency’s mission to deter violent crime, congressional Democrats didn’t buy his argument. 

“I think it's really incontestable that if you need more agents to go after violent criminals that are using guns in the commission of crimes, then diverting some of the agents you already have — 100 agents — to work on immigration enforcement — often generally involving people who have no criminal record apart from being undocumented — is going to dilute your effectiveness,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during the confirmation hearing.