Robert Leider is leaving as chief counsel of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) amid an ongoing Department of Justice (DOJ) overhaul of dozens of firearms regulations he has been overseeing, CBS News reported.
CBS reported Friday that ATF had issued a statement announcing Leider’s resignation. The outlet said the statement identified George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School as the place where he was expected to resume teaching. A source familiar with his plans told CBS that Leider is expected to stay at ATF through year-end and return to teaching in January.
Leider took the chief counsel role last year, soon after Bondi dismissed the bureau’s previous chief, CBS reported. Bondi accused ATF of “targeting gun owners,” an accusation CBS said she made without evidence.
The DOJ unveiled its package of firearms regulations in April, CBS reported. The department said it aimed to ease burdens it viewed as unnecessary for law-abiding citizens and businesses, and revise frameworks it considered out of step with current law, agency practice or court precedent.
One proposal would reverse the Biden-era “engaged in the business” standard, which expanded the range of sellers subject to dealer licensing and background checks. CBS said the rule was intended to prevent sellers operating online or at gun shows from avoiding those obligations.
CBS has also reported differences between Leider and DOJ leaders over legal cases brought against ATF by gun-rights groups. The outlet described Leider as a political appointee and supporter of Second Amendment rights, but said he did not always agree with the department’s legal positions. The latest dispute followed DOJ leaders’ decision not to appeal a Texas ruling that eased National Firearms Act restrictions on short-barreled rifles and shotguns, as well as silencers. Sources told CBS in September that President Donald Trump directed the decision despite legal advice from career and political appointees. A source familiar with Leider’s departure told CBS that the decision not to appeal was unrelated to his resignation.
