ATF’s Top Lawyer Leaves Agency

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives logo (US Government work)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Robert Cekada announced Friday that ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider was stepping down from the agency.

Leider assisted in unveiling sweeping regulatory reforms with ATF, including new guidance on items covered by the National Firearms Act in an effort to comply with an August federal court decision that struck down registration requirements for items whose taxes had been reduced to $0. Cekada praised Leider in a Friday evening post on X.

“Today, I accepted the resignation of ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider,” Cekada said. “Robert has been a trusted advisor and has ably led ATF’s legal and policy work, strengthening the agency’s operations in countless ways. We are grateful for his service and wish him the very best as he returns to George Mason University, which is fortunate to have him back.”

Prior to serving as ATF’s top attorney, Leider was a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, specializing in criminal law and torts. He previously had clerked for Circuit Judge Diana Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.

“Thank you @ATFDirectorRC for the kind words,” Leider posted. “I have greatly enjoyed serving the men and women of ATF and furthering the Administration’s efforts to protect the Second Amendment. Rob is a generational talent who is restoring ATF to its core mission while protecting 2A rights.”

No replacement for Leider has been named.