In a bold reimagining of its structure, the U.S. Justice Department is weighing the unprecedented move of merging two of its most high-profile agencies—the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—into a single enforcement powerhouse. The proposal, outlined in a March 25 internal memo, is part of a broader shakeup aligned with former President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dramatically scale back the size of the federal government.
If enacted, the merger would mark the most significant realignment of federal law enforcement since the post-9/11 reorganization that birthed the Department of Homeland Security. The plan also includes sweeping changes across the department: shuttering regional offices that handle antitrust, environmental, and civil matters; dissolving the Community Relations Service; and consolidating sprawling grant programs into a single office.
The memo, circulated by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, instructs top officials to submit feedback by April 2. While the document frames the restructuring as an efficiency effort—promising smoother coordination and fewer redundancies—it has already drawn fierce criticism from advocacy groups, who argue the changes threaten to hobble key efforts against gun violence and the fentanyl crisis.
The Justice Department, currently employing around 115,000 personnel, has declined to say how many jobs might be affected. However, insiders confirm the memo represents a draft stage, with several proposals requiring congressional sign-off.
Beyond the DEA-ATF merger, the shakeup extends deep into the department’s core operations. The Criminal Division and National Security Division are both facing potential cuts, particularly in offices handling foreign bribery, counterintelligence, and export enforcement. This comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a realignment of resources away from foreign corruption investigations, a move reinforced by a recent executive order from Trump directing the department to pause enforcement of foreign bribery laws.
The memo further suggests dissolving the standalone Consumer Protection Branch by folding it into the Criminal Division, transferring cybercrime operations to national security, and reallocating attorneys from divisions like Tax and Public Integrity to various U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide.
The ATF-DEA merger is already sending tremors through political and law enforcement circles. While the DEA remains a key player in the opioid crisis, the ATF—long a target of gun rights groups—has faced relentless political pressure over its regulatory authority. Advocacy groups like Giffords and Justice Connection have slammed the proposed merger as a thinly veiled attempt to weaken gun law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts under the guise of “streamlining.”
In a rare move, FBI Director Kash Patel is temporarily serving double duty as the ATF’s acting director. Meanwhile, Terry Cole, a veteran of law enforcement, has been tapped to lead the DEA but awaits confirmation.
The fate of the proposal now rests in the hands of Congress and department leadership. But one thing is clear: the Justice Department is standing at the edge of a fundamental transformation that could reshape its mission—and the very architecture of federal law enforcement—for decades to come.
