Grow ATF to 3,000 agents while refocusing enforcement on violent crime, not lawful gun owners.
Confirmed April 2026 after 20 years at the agency, he testified the administration wants ATF grown from roughly 2,400 agents to 3,000, and the same day signed a package of 30-plus rule rollbacks aimed at firearms dealers, telling Congress "the ATF’s mission is not to burden lawful gun owners." The growth pledge sits in real tension with the agency’s other role in the mass-deportation effort: outside reporting (Cato Institute, CNN) put the share of ATF agents reassigned to immigration enforcement at up to 80%, while Cekada told lawmakers directly that only about 100 agents were on that duty — a specific, unresolved factual dispute between the director and his outside critics, not just a policy disagreement. Flagging honestly: no source from the approved conservative-media tier turned up after real searching — coverage of him specifically runs through dedicated gun-press outlets (Ammoland, NRA-ILA, Breitbart) that aren’t on the list, rather than general-interest conservative media.
- Official recordRobert Cekada, written testimony to House Appropriations Subcommittee
- News reportPBS News
- News reportGovernment Executive