(Photo provided by Mirza Kadic/Shutterstock)
November 24, 2025
By David Codrea, Politics Field Editor
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“Nominations Sent to the Senate,” the November 18 “Presidential Actions” statement on The White House website announces, leading off the list with: “Robert Cekada, of Florida, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.”
Who he would nominate has been a source for speculation since before President Donald Trump took office after his definitive 2022 victory, especially since he owed much of his successful campaigns -- both times that he was elected -- to gun owners taking him at his word for his pledges to support the Second Amendment.
He disappointed them in his first term nominating former Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury in 2019, a man who presided over a group that had opposed “Constitutional carry” (they still do), and supported expansion of federal gun laws as well as anti-gun power players like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former Attorney General Eric Holder of Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking” notoriety.
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Cekada was one of the ATF officials identified as potential nominees in Dec. 2024 from a list that also speculated on candidates from outside government, including Larry Keane, the head of the National Shooting Sports Foundation , the gun manufacturers’ trade association. A career law enforcer, Cekada spent eight years as a NYPD officer and detective and has over 20 years at the Bureau where he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his current assignment as Deputy Director.
His confirmation will relieve Acting Director Daniel Driscoll, serving double duty as U.S. Army Secretary of having to divide his attentions (and who himself replaced Kash Patel, acting at ATF while also heading the FBI). That so many past directors have been “acting” demonstrates the controversy and uncertainty that comes with the position and with the Bureau itself. That’s being downplayed by some influential voices, that sound downright gushing.
“Gun rights groups hail Trump’s pick to lead ATF: ‘First ever truly pro-Second Amendment nominee’,” the New York Post reports. That assessment came from American Suppressor Association President Knox Williams, who cited Cekada’s “ensur[ing] law-abiding gun owners have a seat at the table in shaping policy.” (Where such authority to impose any policy is Constitutionally delegated remains uncited.)
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“Deputy Director Cekada has the experience, wisdom and confidence of his colleagues to effectively lead the men and women of the ATF,” NSSF ’s Keane proclaimed in his group’s statement. “Deputy Director Cekada respects the Second Amendment and understands that the firearm industry is not the ‘enemy’ but a valuable partner that assists ATF in its core mission of combatting violent crime.”
How NSSF “partnering” with Cekada and ATF on “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” background checks, which are, after all, prior restraint infringements, “respects” the Second Amendment was not elaborated on.
“We recall when Mr. Cekada was named Deputy Director back in April that he received high praise from many in the firearms community,” Alan Gottlieb, Chairman of the Citizens Committee on the to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) weighed in. “He brings considerable experience, along with what we believe are truly pro-Second Amendment views, which would be a delightful change from the previous administration.” Again, those views aren’t readily apparent.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) was more direct: “Yesterday, President Trump nominated another bureaucrat to lead the ATF. Our stance is clear—abolish ATF and protect the Second Amendment.” And then there’s the “other side.”
“Brady looks forward to learning more about Deputy Director Cekada’s strategic vision and plan for the only federal agency responsible for oversight and accountability of the gun industry,” Brady General Counsel and Director of Programs Josh Scharff declared in a press release. “We are eager to hear from the nominee how he intends to get ATF back on track to accomplish its mission and do what’s needed to keep American families safe.”
Gun owners who pay attention to his confirmation hearings will have a chance to hear for themselves, and see how Cekada’s answers, especially to questions posed by anti-gun Democrats, comport with being “truly pro-Second Amendment.”
The truth of the matter is, everything ATF does is an infringement, and any director is going to be a creature of a Justice Department that has proven to be bipolar on guns, one day announcing it will “use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” and the next prosecuting gun owners and justifying its role enforcing National Firearms Act registration. That extends to ATF, one day announcing a “New Era of Reform” and the next fighting to keep what GOA calls its “unlawful NICS monitoring program.”
Real change will never happen unless there’s a credible “or else” attached to the demands, and there’s currently not much will among those capable of exercising it to make that happen. ATF is going to be with us. Rules are going to be with us. Infringements are going to be with us.
It’s just that with a relatively more benign administration they won’t be as draconian as they will be when the Democrats resume power with a vengeance – and don’t discount the midterms being a bellwether for the shape of things to come.
There are two clever and funny “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Videos” on YouTube that poke fun at the city’s many foibles and end with the tag line “At least we’re not Detroit.” I can’t help but view Cekada’s nomination as analogous.
At least he’s not wannabe Chief Gun-grabber and Giffords flak David Chipman. At least he’s not Democrat apparatchik Steve Dettelbach, but whoever believes Cekada will be a true pal is smoking something that’ll get them on ATF’s “prohibited persons” list.
About the Author Firearms News and AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance ,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
