President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for 2026 suggests a cut of $486 million to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), according to the New York Times.
ABC News cited an unnamed senior White House official who indicated that an “abusive regulatory order” by the ATF against gun owners influenced this funding cut.
The White House’s budget document articulates that:
The budget aims to strengthen the Second Amendment by reducing funding to ATF offices that penalize lawful gun ownership through regulatory means. The previous administration compromised the Second Amendment by utilizing the ATF to target gun owners, mandating unnecessary background checks and failing to register pistol braces that assist disabled veterans. This could lead to legal gun owners facing up to ten years in prison. Excessive limitations on homemade firearms and the revocation of federal firearms licenses are also issues causing small and medium businesses to close across the nation.
A statement from the White House on May 2, 2025, highlighted that the proposed funding reduction for the ATF aims to refocus its efforts on combating illegal firearm trafficking and violent gangs instead of penalizing law-abiding gun owners.
The New York Times also reported that Trump’s administration seeks to eliminate “overreaching restrictions on homemade firearms,” restrictions that were imposed by the ATF during the Biden administration.
