According to sources, a new Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will start on Monday. Daniel Driscoll will take the reins of the ATF from Acting Director Kash Patel, who will continue as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Mr. Driscoll is currently serving as the Secretary of the Army after being confirmed on February 25, 2025. He was born in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Mr. Driscoll used the post-9/11 GI Bill to attend the University of North Carolina, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He would then serve in the United States Army for three and a half years as a lieutenant, first as an armor officer, then as a cavalry scout platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division. He would see combat while deployed in Iraq.
After Driscoll’s time in the Army, he attended Yale Law School and received a Juris Doctor. During his time at Yale, he would become friends with Vice President JD Vance. While at Yale, Driscoll interned for Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. In 2020, he would run for the Republican nomination to represent North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. He would be unsuccessful in his election attempt.
Driscoll’s public record on gun rights is limited. When he ran for Congress, he ran on a conservative platform, including protecting the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. With the Justice Department’s (DOJ) new Second Amendment Task Force announcement, Driscoll could see a significant role. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) saw the appointment to the position as a positive step to curtail the ATF’s overreach.
“President Trump’s decision to appoint Acting Director Driscoll is indicative of his resolve to bring reform to the ATF and protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens and the industry that makes it possible to exercise those rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “NSSF is deeply appreciative of FBI Director Kash Patel’s service in leading the ATF as Acting Director for nearly two months in his interim role and the recognition, along with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, that the ATF was "weaponized" by the previous administration to carry out a radical gun control agenda. The firearm industry is confident that President Trump’s appointment of Acting Director Driscoll to lead the ATF will return the Bureau to its proper role as a law enforcement agency laser focused on combating violent crime and illegal firearms trafficking, and to act as a non-partisan regulator of the firearm industry.”
The ATF has faced growing criticism over its actions against gun owners and the gun industry. The appointment of Kash Patel as acting director and Robert Leider as chief counsel has given hope to the gun community that the ATF will curtail some of its infringements. Both gentlemen have a record of being pro-gun. Some changes have already been taking place, including repealing zero-tolerance policies and reviewing rules put into place under the last administration.
It is believed that Mr. Driscoll will keep reforming the Bureau and help implement President Donald Trump’s executive orders on Second Amendment issues. Kash Patel will remain the head of the FBI. There is no timeline for a permanent ATF director.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
