Washington [US], April 10 : FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly been removed as the interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by the Trump administration in the US, which has replaced him with Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, the Washington Post said on Thursday.
The US daily reported on the development according to two sources familiar with the decision.
A US defence official told The Hill that Driscoll is the acting ATF director and that he will remain the Army secretary.
Driscoll was notified of the appointment on Wednesday while traveling in Europe, the defence official told Fox News.
Fox News Digital further reported citing a source close to Patel that the ATF was taken off his plate because he wanted to focus on the bureau.
"It was never supposed to be a long-term thing. He was happy to serve, of course, but his job is the director of the FBI," the source said as cited by Fox News Digital.
Patel was named as the acting leader of the ATF, a domestic law enforcement agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), in late February this year. He was sworn in shortly after taking the helm of the FBI. The ATF is responsible for preventing the trafficking of illegal weapons and substances, including those smuggled into the US through the southern border.
The ATF, which is housed under the DOJ's umbrella, investigates and seeks to prevent federal offenses involving explosives, firearms and arson as well as the illegal trafficking of tobacco and alcohol.
The Senate had confirmed Patel as the FBI director on February 20. According to The Hill, despite controversy over his qualifications, the Senate recently confirmed Patel as the FBI Director in a narrow 51-49 vote.
Steve Dettelbach, the previous ATF director, resigned from the post in January. Dettelbach was the agency's first permanent head since 2015. Driscoll, who was tapped by Trump to lead the Army in December last year, was confirmed as the secretary in late February.
As per The Hill report, Driscoll served in the Army for three and a half years. In 2009, he was deployed to Iraq. Driscoll attended Yale Law School, where he met Vice President Vance.
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