The Trump administration-backed ATF general counsel, Robert Leider, an ardent Second Amendment advocate, is overseeing the changes at ATF while working with DOGE, the people said. He has shifted additional ATF attorneys to work on the changes.
In addition to dozens of regulation cuts, Leider and his team are planning to change the legally mandated 4473 Form that most buyers are required to fill out when purchasing a firearm, shrinking it from the current seven pages to as few as three pages.
People familiar with the potential changes said the form instructions would be truncated and that some of the questions to determine if a potential buyer is legally allowed to own a firearm may be condensed into one large “yes” or “no” question.
For example, separate questions ask people to answer if they have been committed to a mental institution, have been dishonorably discharged from the military or are an unlawful user of drugs.
These and others could be combined into one question under the potential changes, two people familiar with them said. The question asking if the potential buyer is a felon would remain a stand-alone question.
Some people interviewed said they fear that the changes could lead to more inaccuracies — and may make it harder for prosecutors to be able to prove that someone intentionally lied when filling out the federal form to purchase a gun.
In late February, Trump said that Kash Patel, the FBI director, would at least temporarily lead ATF — a surprise announcement that put Patel atop two major law enforcement agencies with distinct mandates. More than six weeks into his job, The Post reported that Patel had shown up at ATF headquarters only once and had scant communication with senior staffers at the agency.
The administration then replaced Patel in early April with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who holds the two roles simultaneously.
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