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Robert Leider, chief counsel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced Friday that he is stepping down, CBS News reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. The ATF confirmed the resignation in a short statement.
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Shop NowHe was appointed last year, shortly after former Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the agency’s previous top lawyer.
Leider, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, oversaw the overhaul of dozens of firearms regulations the Justice Department unveiled in April, including a proposal to repeal a Biden-era rule that widened who must hold a dealer license and run background checks.
He will return to teaching at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, remaining on the ATF payroll through January while on administrative leave.
A political appointee and staunch Second Amendment supporter, Leider at times disagreed with Justice Department leadership over lawsuits brought by gun-rights groups, sources told CBS.
The latest dispute involved a decision, which sources say President Trump directed, not to appeal a Texas ruling that loosened rules on short-barreled rifles and silencers.
A source told CBS News that Leider’s departure was not related to that decision. Leider could not be reached for comment.
Click here to read the full story on CBS News
