Trump’s DOJ Pushed To Merge ATF With DEA

[PAF]

Eireann Van Natta
August 18, 2025


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.

Gun owners gained a narrow victory in July when the House blocked Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi’s merger policy in an appropriations funding proposal. On July 18, Senate appropriators also rejected Bondi’s proposal. Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told Bondi at a hearing the DOJ would need congressional approval for the merger to be enacted.

Bondi defended the merger in June when testifying before the House Appropriations Committee.

The Trump administration has instituted reforms aimed at protecting gun rights, including the repeal of Biden’s “Zero Tolerance Policy,” which targeted federal firearm license (FFL) dealers. The DOJ’s recent proposal sparked fears those reforms could be reversed under a future anti-gun administration.

Activists argued an ATF and DEA merger would create a powerful agency armed with more federal resources to target gun rights.

Gun-rights groups, including the Second Amendment Foundation and Gun Owners of America (GOA), sent a letter to Bondi in June expressing their concerns about the proposed merger. The letter detailed 12 reasons why the merger would be a “trojan horse” for gun restrictions.



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

The Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

dailycaller.com

 

[oyarde]

The batfe , fbi , cia and dea need abolished

 

[PAF]

Gun-rights groups, including the Second Amendment Foundation and Gun Owners of America (GOA), sent a letter to Bondi in June expressing their concerns about the proposed merger. The letter detailed 12 reasons why the merger would be a “trojan horse” for gun restrictions.

Headings in the letter:

1. Conflating Gun Ownership with Drug Crimes Would Taint the Second Amendment with an Appearance of Criminality.

2. ATF Access to DEA Resources Would More than Triple the Gun-Control Budget.

3. A Merger Would Militarize More Federal Agents Against Law-Abiding Americans.

4. ATF Would Gain Unprecedented Intelligence and Surveillance Capabilities.

5. Merging ATF with DEA Was Al Gore’s Idea.

6. An ATF Merger Has Been on the Anti-Gun Activists’ Wish List for Years.

7. Past ATF-DEA Cooperation Resulted in Colossal Failure. Does “Fast and Furious” Ring a Bell?

8. Blurring the Lines Between ATF and More Popular Agencies Would Insulate ATF from Criticism.

9. An ATF-DEA Merger Would Undermine Government Accountability.

10. An ATF-DEA Merger Would Dilute the Political Power of Gun Owners, Subordinating Their Interests to Those of “Big Pharma.”

11. A Merger Would Waste Precious Time that Would Be Better Spent Implementing the President’s Agenda.

12. Any Subsequent Claim that ATF Has Been “Abolished” Through Merger Would Give RINOs an Excuse to Do Nothing.​

 

[TheTexan]

My only opposition to this is the government wants to do it, so therefore it must not be good, and therefore I am against it

 

[PAF]

@Anti Federalist see Post #3

 

[Anti Federalist]

Headings in the letter:

1. Conflating Gun Ownership with Drug Crimes Would Taint the Second Amendment with an Appearance of Criminality.​

​

2. ATF Access to DEA Resources Would More than Triple the Gun-Control Budget.​

​

3. A Merger Would Militarize More Federal Agents Against Law-Abiding Americans.​

​

4. ATF Would Gain Unprecedented Intelligence and Surveillance Capabilities.​

​

5. Merging ATF with DEA Was Al Gore’s Idea.​

​

6. An ATF Merger Has Been on the Anti-Gun Activists’ Wish List for Years.​

​

7. Past ATF-DEA Cooperation Resulted in Colossal Failure. Does “Fast and Furious” Ring a Bell?​

​

8. Blurring the Lines Between ATF and More Popular Agencies Would Insulate ATF from Criticism.​

​

9. An ATF-DEA Merger Would Undermine Government Accountability.​

​

10. An ATF-DEA Merger Would Dilute the Political Power of Gun Owners, Subordinating Their Interests to Those of “Big Pharma.”​

​

11. A Merger Would Waste Precious Time that Would Be Better Spent Implementing the President’s Agenda.​

​

12. Any Subsequent Claim that ATF Has Been “Abolished” Through Merger Would Give RINOs an Excuse to Do Nothing.​

They are 100 percent right and this should be opposed vigorously.

 

[Anti Globalist]

Instead of merging we should be eliminating these departments, not make them more powerful.