FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed a CNN report claiming he is planning to reduce the number of agents in the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, a key component of the nation’s domestic security efforts. The former national security advisor to President Donald Trump insisted that the network’s account was inaccurate, refuting claims that he was preparing a “major cutback” in the department’s workforce. The report had alleged that Patel was considering shifting as many as 1,000 ATF agents to the FBI, which would result in cutting more than a third of the agency’s agents.
“The move represents a major cutback of the ATF, an agency that long has been in the crosshairs of gun rights groups that believe its work infringes on Second Amendment rights,” CNN said. “The ATF has about 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a number that has remained largely unchanged for years. After publication of this story and resulting pushback including from Republican allies, FBI officials began to back off aspects of their plan, according to a US official familiar with the matter,” the report stated.
On Monday, the FBI director circulated a memo to all ATF personnel refuting CNN’s claims. “I want to address a report from this weekend speculating about the intentions of FBI leadership with personnel decisions at the ATF,” Patel began the memo obtained by Fox News Digital. “This weekend, CNN reported news of a plan on the part of our leadership to ‘cut as many as one third’ of ATF agents and reallocate 1,000 agents over to the FBI. The report even suggested our leadership team altered course after reading a news report, and ultimately backed off certain aspects of changes. This ‘report’ is entirely false.”
“The fake news will NEVER be responsible for operational command authority over the ATF, we are,” Patel declared. “The brave men and women of the ATF who courageously dedicate themselves to protecting the American public will not have their security jeopardized by the media’s disinformation campaigns. When we make decisions, they will be final, regardless of the input of CNN or any other news organization.”
Patel, 45, a bold and unapologetic operator confirmed last month, has vowed to aggressively target the inner workings of the intelligence community. Aligning closely with President Donald Trump’s pledge to dismantle “deep state” entities—which the president claims were used against him by the Biden-Harris administration—Patel made his intentions clear.
During his swearing-in ceremony, he outlined his vision for the Bureau and committed to holding mainstream media outlets accountable for their coverage. “Look, I know the media’s in here, and if you have a target, the target’s right here,” Patel said as he pointed to himself. “It is not the men and women at the FBI. You have written everything you possibly can about me that’s fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory. Keep it coming. Bring it on, but leave the men and women of the FBI out of it. They deserve better,” he added to applause.
