(Townhall)—Just hours after being sworn in as the new FBI Director, sources say Kash Patel has been appointed as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). This move comes as part of a broader reshuffling within federal law enforcement, with Patel expected to bring his strong background in counterterrorism and national security to his new role. With the ATF’s growing focus on combatting violent crime and illegal firearms trafficking, Patel’s leadership is anticipated to be pivotal in shaping the agency’s future direction.
According to several sources, President Donald Trump is expected to name Patel as the acting director of the ATF. He would replace Marvin Richardson, the agency’s current acting director.
On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi dismissed the ATF general counsel, Pamela Hicks. She had served as chief counsel since 2021 under the Biden administration and as deputy chief counsel for ATF during Trump’s first administration. Bondi accused the current leadership at the ATF of targeting law-abiding gun owners.
The ATF is responsible for regulating firearm sales and registrations among Americans. The agency has long faced Republican criticism for what they view as government overreach on Second Amendment rights. Bondi directed the ATF to reallocate resources from alcohol and tobacco enforcement to support the DOJ’s efforts against illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.
Patel was sworn in on Friday after his narrow 51-49 confirmation vote. Following this, he promptly ordered the transfer of 1,500 FBI personnel from headquarters to field offices nationwide. In his speech, he pledged to implement “rigorous” constitutional oversight beginning this weekend, emphasizing that there would be “accountability in the FBI and outside of the FBI.” He stated that deploying FBI agents to troubled communities will help the agency concentrate on addressing violent crime, including the pursuit of rapists, murderers, and drug traffickers. He warned that anyone who “wishes to do harm to our way of life and our citizens, here and abroad, will face the full wrath of the DOJ and FBI.”
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
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Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
