ATF’s Top Lawyer Resigns. Who Comes Next Matters.

ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider resigned on October 30 and is expected to return to teaching at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. ATF thanked him for his service but offered no explanation for his departure or announcement of a replacement.

For gun owners, this is worth watching. Leider was widely considered friendly to the Second Amendment. Gun-rights organizations welcomed his appointment, and he had argued that reforming ATF would benefit gun owners more than abolishing it. His approach was to change the agency from within.

He also helped shape the agency’s major regulatory overhaul. Many of those proposals are still working through the rulemaking process. His departure does not automatically cancel them, but losing someone who helped develop and advance them raises questions about whether they will reach the finish line.

The chief counsel position does not require Senate confirmation. The administration can appoint a replacement without a confirmation battle. That gives it an opportunity to choose another attorney who takes the Second Amendment seriously.

We should be careful about reading too much into the resignation itself. The public announcement does not establish that Leider left over a policy dispute.

The more useful question is what happens next: Who replaces him, and will that person carry the reforms through?

Personnel choices matter. So does following through on promises. Gun owners should watch both.