The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly begun its overhaul of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), sending staffers to the agency to modify or eliminate dozens of rules and restrictions by July 4.
According to two people who spoke with The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, the initial goal was to change 47 regulations — a reference to Donald Trump as the 47th president — but ATF and DOGE employees have set their sights higher and are now planning to make 50 changes.
The effort is part of a major shakeup at the ATF, as the Trump administration looks to make cuts to the agency’s budget and reduce the number of inspectors who check to ensure gun sellers comply with federal law.
There have been calls from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to shutter the agency, while Attorney General Pam Bondi has said she would like to fold it into the Drug Enforcement Administration.
If DOGE succeeds in making the revisions, it would be a major win for Second Amendment activists, who have long complained that the ATF’s firearm regulations infringe on their constitutionally protected right to own guns.
Conversely, gun-control advocates worry that the changes being made at the ATF will give potentially dangerous individuals easier access to weapons.
According to the Post’s report, the details of the plan are still being worked out and it is unknown which ATF rules are likely to be targeted.
“As Attorney General Bondi has made clear, ATF is working hard to reduce regulatory red tape that burdens lawful gun owners and to ensure agents are doing real police work hunting down criminals and gang members — not knocking on the doors of lawful gun owners in the middle of the night,” Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin told the outlet.
The Post’s sources said that Robert Leider, the Trump-backed ATF general counsel, is supervising the overhaul at the agency while working with DOGE. Leider is reportedly a staunch Second Amendment advocate.
What is known is that Leider and the DOGE team are planning to make changes to the 4473 Form that most gun buyers are required to fill out when making a purchase. The Post reported that the current seven-page form could be shrunk to as few as three pages. Gun sellers are required to keep these forms on file and make them available to aid law enforcement during a criminal investigation or ATF inspectors to ensure compliance with federal law.
According to people familiar with the potential changes, the form’s instructions would be condensed, with some of the buyer screening questions turned into one large “yes” or “no” question. On the current form, separate questions ask people if they have ever been committed to a mental institution, been dishonorably discharged from the military or used illicit drugs.
These and other questions used to determine if a potential buyer is legally allowed to own a gun could be combined into one. However, the question asking if the potential buyer is a convicted felon would remain a separate question, according to two of the Post’s sources.
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