ATF Chief Counsel Exits, Leaving Gun Rule Rollbacks Unfinished

ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider has resigned after roughly a year and a half spent dismantling Biden-era firearms regulations, leaving several unfinished reform efforts in the hands of whoever replaces him.

Key points

• Who's leaving: Leider resigned effective October 30, 2026, and is returning to George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School as a law professor, according to Ammoland.
• What he did: Ammoland reports Leider backed nearly 40 proposed and final rules, including repealing the Biden "zero tolerance" dealer-revocation policy and proposing to rescind the 2023 pistol brace rule.
• NFA shake-up: He also helped craft ATF guidance after the OBBB Act zeroed out NFA transfer taxes and a Texas federal judge barred enforcement of related registration provisions in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF.
• Unfinished business: The brace rule and "engaged in the business" repeal are still pending notice-and-comment rulemaking, and Texas v. ATF litigation over the dealer rule remains active, per the report.
• No successor named: ATF Director Robert Cekada accepted the resignation but hasn't announced a replacement or timeline, Ammoland notes.

Quick take

Leider's exit lands at an awkward moment, with multiple rollbacks still mid-process and a court fight unresolved. Whoever takes the Chief Counsel job inherits the job of finishing what he started, or quietly letting it stall. Worth watching whether ATF keeps the momentum or the reforms lose steam without him pushing them.

Read the full story: ammoland.com