Robert Leider, the chief counsel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced Friday that he is resigning from his position. Leider, who was appointed last year as the agency's top attorney, is expected to remain in his role until the new year before returning to a faculty position at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School in January.
Leider’s tenure followed the firing of the agency's former chief by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. During his time as chief counsel, Leider oversaw a series of regulatory changes directed by the Justice Department. This included the April 2026 unveiling of 34 notices of final and proposed rulemaking intended to modernize firearms regulations and reduce requirements for gun owners and businesses in accordance with Executive Order 14206, "Protecting Second Amendment Rights."
Among the proposals overseen by Leider was the repeal of a Biden-era rule that had expanded the definition of who is "engaged in the business" of selling firearms. That original rule required online and gun-show sellers to obtain dealer licenses and conduct background checks. While Leider supported Second Amendment rights, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that he did not always see eye to eye with Justice Department leadership regarding litigation, including a recent decision by the department not to appeal a Texas court ruling that loosened restrictions on short-barreled rifles and silencers. A source familiar with the matter told CBS News that Leider's decision to step down was not related to that decision.
The policy shift Leider oversaw includes 34 specific regulatory updates, such as the proposed repeal of the "engaged in the business" rule. This change would reduce the number of sellers required to obtain a federal license and perform background checks. For a typical gun owner or small-scale seller, this may result in fewer administrative requirements for transactions at gun shows or through online platforms.
The regulatory overhaul marks a shift in how the ATF handles compliance. ATF Director Robert Cekada stated that the agency’s focus will move toward "willful violators" rather than "inadvertent compliance issues" by law-abiding owners. This change in enforcement priorities, coupled with the department’s decision not to appeal rulings on short-barreled weapons, sets a new precedent for how the National Firearms Act is applied. These actions essentially limit the federal government’s role in regulating certain classes of firearms and the licensing of secondary-market sellers.
What happens next depends on the ongoing rulemaking process. The ATF has invited public input on its proposed changes, with comment periods generally open for 90 days from their respective dates of publication on Regulations.gov. The agency has stated it will review this feedback before finalizing the rules. While Leider will depart in January, the Justice Department under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has indicated that this release of 34 rules is only the first in a series of planned regulatory updates.