February 5, 2026

NSSF-Supported ATF Director Nominee Cekada Questioned at Senate Hearing, Vows ‘Not to Burden Law-Abiding Gun Owners’

By Larry Keane

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), current ATF Deputy Director Robert Cekada, sat before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday and fielded questions about how he would lead the agency if confirmed by the full Senate. NSSF listened closely to his testimony.

This morning NSSF sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) expressing the industry’s “strong and unqualified support” for confirming Deputy Director Cekada to be the Senate-confirmed director of the bureau that regulates the firearm and ammunition industry.

“Mr. Cekada has dedicated his life to serving the American people and advancing public safety,” NSSF’s letter stated. “During his more than three decades in law enforcement, including over 20 years with the ATF, Mr. Cekada has distinguished himself as an effective professional consistently recognized for his leadership capabilities and proven record of enforcing the law… Mr. Cekada, without question, meets all the qualifications we consider necessary to effectively perform the duties and responsibilities of Director of the ATF.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee will soon vote to advance Deputy Director Cekada’s nomination to a full Senate vote, which could then take place quickly. A simple majority vote would confirm the nomination to become ATF’s Director.

A New Approach

During his opening statement, Deputy Director Cekada made it clear from the get-go that, should he be confirmed, the ATF would carry out its mission in a clear manner, a distinct contrast to the way some of the bureau’s leaders operated in the Biden administration.

“I’ve spent nearly thirty-four years in local and federal law enforcement with a singular mission—keeping the American people safe,” Deputy Director Cekada said in his opening remarks. “ATF’s core mission is public safety: targeting violent criminals and disrupting firearms trafficking networks, armed gangs and cartels.”

He added, “If confirmed, my foremost priority will be to ensure ATF supports President Trump’s mandate to make America safer by remaining relentlessly focused on eliminating violent crime. ATF’s mission is not to burden lawful gun owners or undermine the Second Amendment. The right to keep and bear arms is a Constitutional guarantee and I am committed to protecting and preserving it.”

Those succinct words are welcomed and encouraging. The firearm industry well knows that the previous administration—using the ATF—suffocated the lawful and highly-regulated firearm and ammunition industry, attacked law-abiding gun owners through executive fiat and infringements and used a whole-of-government approach to suppress the exercise of Second Amendment rights.

High Priorities

Early in the hearing Chairman Grassley asked Deputy Director Cekada what his priorities will be at ATF should he be confirmed. The Chairman got a straight answer to his question from the nominee.

“The top priorities for ATF will remain violent crime in the forms of illegal use of firearms, illegal use of explosives and criminal acts of arson,” Deputy Director Cekada explained. “We have firm commitments with our state and local law enforcement partners to continue using crime gun intelligence, e-trace, NIBIN and DNA, to work with our partners to identify who the scourges of their communities are—the people that are responsible using firearms illegally to commit violent crime. ATF will continue to do that as our primary focus.”

What the deputy director did not say is that he would use ATF resources to expand agency efforts to penalize lawful firearm manufacturers, distributors or retailers for minor clerical errors or mistakes and shutter their businesses. Gone are the days when our industry is viewed as “the enemy” as was the case during the Biden administration.

Ranking Member Tell

One significant exchange between Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Durbin and Deputy Director Cekada was telling. Sen. Durbin is a staunch supporter of strict gun control and seems to always take advantage of opportunities to make it known.

His questioning of the deputy director at the confirmation hearing, however, was muted and limited to one question—signaling a possible recognition that Deputy Director Cekada will be confirmed and will lead the agency effectively.

“Thank you for the good meeting in our office—I enjoyed meeting you,” Sen. Durbin began. “Your highest priority, you say, is to stop violent crime and that’s a priority well worth your attention and ours as well.”

Sen. Durbin asked a question about diverting ATF agents from their official ATF duties to instead carrying out other agency duties, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Deputy Director Cekada was quick to correct Sen. Durbin on an inaccurate figure as to the limited number of agents working with ICE on arresting illegal aliens for gun crimes. The nominee reassured Sen. Durbin that ATF agents will continue to focus on their core mission of reducing violent crime.

Throughout the remaining course of the roughly two-hour hearing, the nominee ably answered questions from Senators who both support the Second Amendment and ATF’s role in combatting crime caused by criminals and those who support additional gun control and preferred the way the agency operated under former President Joe Biden.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will next hold a hopefully bipartisan vote on moving the nomination out of committee and to the Senate floor in the next few weeks.

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