Trump’s DOJ Pushed To Merge ATF With DEA — Gun Owners Revolted

Gun-rights activists sounded the alarm over the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposal to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arguing it would be weaponized by an anti-gun White House. Some Republicans in Congress appear to agree.

The DOJ claimed the proposed merger would make the agencies more efficient in tackling violent crime and drug cartels. Second Amendment advocates warn it could easily be abused by an administration hostile to gun owners.

The proposal is buried in the DOJ’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request, and sources previously told the Second Amendment Foundation the merger could happen as soon as Oct. 1, 2025. The proposal was originally detailed in a March DOJ memo obtained by Reuters...