By Steve Neavling
The Trump administration is moving to roll back dozens of federal gun regulations by July 4 as part of a broader effort to weaken the ATF, according to multiple sources familiar with the changes, The Washington Post reports.
A non-Cabinet agency known as DOGE, originally launched by billionaire Elon Musk for cost-cutting efforts, has been working with ATF staff to revise or eliminate more than 50 rules. The push includes shrinking the required federal gun purchase form from seven to as few as three pages and consolidating questions used to determine if someone is eligible to buy a gun.
Officials say the changes aim to reduce paperwork for lawful gun owners and gun dealers. But critics warn the revisions could make it easier for people prohibited from owning firearms to obtain them and harder to prosecute cases of lying on federal forms.
The administration also wants to slash the number of ATF inspectors by more than half, from 800 to around 250. Gun control advocates say the cuts would leave the agency unable to adequately monitor dealers and trace firearms used in crimes.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has floated plans to merge ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration, while some Republicans have pushed to eliminate the agency altogether. Trump has not nominated a permanent ATF director and has replaced top staff with political allies, including Robert Leider, a Second Amendment advocate now overseeing the regulatory rollback.
“The administration seems hell-bent on ushering in a golden age for gun criminals,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “These cuts would be a dream come true for gun traffickers and a nightmare for law enforcement and public safety.”
