Justice Department officials on Wednesday moved to roll back and modify more than 30 gun regulations, including a proposal to repeal a 2024 Biden administration rule that would have required thousands more firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.
The administration’s move came shortly before Robert Cekada was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, putting him in charge of the federal agency responsible for enforcing the country’s gun laws. The 2024 rule had sought to close what is often called the gun show loophole, and gun rights groups along with Republican-led states had already challenged it in court.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the package “the most comprehensive regulatory reform package in the history of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” and said the changes would align gun rules with Supreme Court precedent while reducing burdens on firearms sellers and lawful gun owners. He said, “For too long, regulations were written without any real understanding of how firearms businesses operate, how lawful gun owners handle their firearms, or what truly improves public safety.”
Cekada, who joined the ATF in 2005, had been running the agency’s day-to-day operations for the last year as deputy director. He is only the third person to be confirmed to lead the agency since the director’s post became confirmable in 2006, a sign of how often administrations of both parties have relied on acting directors instead of permanent chiefs.
The timing sharpened the political edge of the announcement. John Feinblatt, who leads Everytown for Gun Safety, 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.” With the regulations now headed for revision and Cekada installed at the top of the ATF, the White House and gun groups are moving into the next fight over how far federal firearms enforcement should go.