ATF Enters Leadership Vacuum as Director Vacancy Stretches Toward a Decade

When Senate-confirmed ATF Director B. Todd Jones resigned on August 21, 2015 after just two years, the agency entered a period of acting director leadership that would last over a decade across four presidential administrations. Senate Republicans repeatedly used procedural holds and the confirmation process to block nominees backed by gun control advocates, while the NRA lobbied against any director seen as favoring enforcement. Steve Dettelbach was confirmed in 2022 under Biden, but resigned before Trump's inauguration, leaving ATF without a confirmed director through early 2026.