The Justice Department said it moved Wednesday to roll back and modify gun regulations in a shift that gun control advocates criticized as dangerously loosening federal oversight. The announcement came as Robert Cekada, the newly confirmed chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, took over leadership after running the agency’s day-to-day operations as deputy director.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the revisions as the “most comprehensive regulatory reform package in the history” for ATF, saying the changes are intended to align gun regulations with Supreme Court precedent and reduce what he characterized as unnecessary burdens on firearms sellers and lawful gun owners. Blanche said regulations had been written without sufficient understanding of how firearms businesses operate, how lawful gun owners handle their firearms, and what he said actually improves public safety.
The department’s slate, which included more than 30 changes, also targeted rules that had been challenged in court by gun-rights groups and Republican-led states. One of the more prominent proposals was the repeal of a 2024 Biden administration rule that sought to bring thousands more firearms dealers under background-check requirements for purchases made at gun shows or other locations outside traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Supporters of gun rights had argued the Biden-era approach infringed on Second Amendment protections and that the administration lacked authority to implement the rule. Gun control advocates, however, said the direction of the revisions would make the country less safe, contending the Justice Department was tailoring its moves to Second Amendment supporters in President Donald Trump’s political base.
Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt criticized the changes in a statement tied to timing and public safety concerns. He said, “Four days after the nation watched gunfire break out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Trump administration’s answer is to gut commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands,” arguing the federal response was an effort to undercut safety rules.
Blanche, in contrast, said the revisions would bring regulations into line with Supreme Court precedent while cutting what he described as administrative and compliance burdens for lawful gun owners and dealers. He framed the changes as a regulatory overhaul designed to improve the way federal gun rules function in practice.
Cekada’s confirmation followed a period when the agency had mostly been led by acting directors, with the ATF director job having proved difficult to fill through Senate confirmation since the position became confirmable in 2006. The Justice Department said Cekada was only the third Senate-confirmed ATF director since that change, and noted that he joined the agency in 2005 and served as deputy director over the past year.
In a comment accompanying the announcement, Blanche said: “Rob is exactly the right person to lead the ATF at this moment,” crediting Cekada with leadership at a time the administration said it is reshaping firearms enforcement.
Meanwhile, the ATF has long faced criticism from conservatives for its role in gun regulation. The Justice Department, according to the account, has emphasized the agency’s work in taking illegal guns off the street and stopping violent crime, positioning the leadership change and regulatory rollbacks as part of that enforcement approach.