Trump to name FBI chief Patel as acting ATF director, source says

By Sarah N. Lynch and Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will name newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

Patel, a Trump loyalist, will run the FBI, the nation's most prominent law enforcement agency, at a time of growing upheaval while also leading the ATF, which enforces U.S. gun laws.

Democrats and two moderate Republicans had forcefully opposed Patel's nomination, saying his past calls for retribution against Trump's critics made him unfit to lead the FBI, but this was not enough to overcome broad Republican support.

Patel, who has received support from the Gun Owners of America lobby group for championing gun rights, would be expected to lead an overhaul of the agency, shifting its focus away from regulating firearms.

During his presidential campaign, Trump accused the ATF of being heavy-handed with gun owners and revoking licenses on frivolous grounds.

On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi abruptly fired the ATF's long-time chief counsel, Pamela Hicks, and had security escort her out of the building without an explanation or a warning, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Bondi later said in an interview with Fox News that she fired Hicks because “these people were targeting gun owners.”

Bondi had ordered the ATF to shift its focus to helping the Department of Justice target illegal immigration and shift away from its role of regulating arms, tobacco and alcohol.

Patel would be one of several Trump administration officials to take on two roles.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also serving as acting administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, which Trump wants to dissolve and fold under State Department control.

Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, is also serving as the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency the administration wants to dissolve.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright also serve as co-chairs of Trump's new National Energy Dominance Council.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by William Mallard)