Kash Patel has been replaced by Army Secretary Driscoll as acting head of the ATF, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel has been removed as the acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been replaced with the Army secretary, three people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear why Patel was replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to lead the Justice Department agency that's responsible for enforcing the nation's gun laws. One person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move, said Patel was removed at the end of February, just days after he was sworn in.

But that was never publicly announced. Patel on Wednesday afternoon remained on the agency’s website and was identified as the acting director in an April 7 press release. In March, he posted on social media a note he sent to the ATF workforce that read “special message from the acting director.” And senior ATF leaders were only informed Wednesday of the change, according to another person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move.

Driscoll will remain secretary of the Army, according to a defense official. This puts a defense leader — with an already large job — in charge of a domestic law enforcement agency. U.S. defense officials have historically tried to maintain a strict divide between military forces and law enforcement. U.S. troops are not allowed to participate in law enforcement activities on American soil. They do, however, provide support and intelligence gathering to Custom and Border Protection to help secure the southern border

As Army secretary, Driscoll, 38, heads the U.S. military’s largest service, which has about 452,000 soldiers including thousands who are deployed all over the world. He also oversees dozens of major weapons, aircraft and equipment programs worth billions of dollars and is responsible for an Army budget of more than $187 billion.

Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said Patel was “briefly designated ATF Director while awaiting Senate confirmations — a standard, short-term move.”

“Director Patel is now excelling in his role at the FBI and delivering outstanding results," Fields said.

Driscoll, of North Carolina, had served as an adviser to Vice President JD Vance, whom he met when both were attending Yale Law School. He served in the Army for less than four years and left at the rank of first lieutenant.

He ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for a North Carolina congressional seat in 2020, getting about 8% of the vote in a crowded field of candidates.

Patel was named acting ATF director in an unusual arrangement in February just days after he was sworn in to lead the FBI, putting him in charge of two separate and sprawling Justice Department agencies.

Justice Department officials have been considering a plan to combine the ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration into a single agency. The two agencies often work together, along with the FBI, but are both led by separate directors and are tasked with distinctly different missions.

The plan is designed to "achieve efficiencies in resources, case deconfliction, and regulatory efforts," according to a recent memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The ATF investigates things like violent crime, gun trafficking, arson and bombings. It also provides technical expertise in tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. The DEA, meanwhile, is in charge of enforcing the nation’s laws around drugs. Its agents are focused on combating criminal drug networks and stemming the illicit flow of fentanyl and other street drugs.