Report: Trump DOJ Cutting Number of ATF Inspectors by Two-Thirds
A report from the New York Timesindicated President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is limiting the ATF’s ability to harass Federal Firearm License holders (FFLs) by cutting the number of ATF inspectors by two-thirds.
According to the NYT, “The department plans to eliminate 541 of the estimated 800 investigators.”
ATF inspectors are the ones who visited FFLs under the Biden Administration’s zero tolerance policy and shut down numerous gun stores over clerical errors.
On April 7, 2025, Breitbart News pointed to a report by Gun Owners of America which noted that Gun Owners of America that, under Trump, the DOJ and ATF repealed the zero tolerance policy that was weaponized under Biden. Moreover, on May 27, 2025, Breitbart News noted that automatic FFL revocations by the ATF were gone as well.
Such revocations were a trait of Biden’s ATF, as inspectors immediately revoked FFLs due to simple mistakes on gun forms.
Trump’s ATF announced that the approach of automatic revocation would be replaced with one that considers “intent, compliance history and public-safety risks.” The announcement also made clear there would be a new posture among ATF personnel involved in gun store/FFL inspections, a posture that included a focus on “content-driven enforcement” and “support for lawful industry engagement.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: [email protected].
