Leaders at the Justice Department are considering a significant restructuring that would involve merging key agencies responsible for enforcing drug and gun laws, a memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s memo outlines a reorganization plan that proposes combining the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives into a single agency. This move aims to streamline resources, enhance case coordination, and improve regulatory efforts.
This proposal is part of the broader effort by the Trump administration to revamp and streamline federal agencies. President Donald Trump has mandated agencies to develop strategies for reducing staff positions and consolidating programs.
Under the Justice Department’s plan, policy offices would be merged, and certain field offices, including the Antitrust Division offices in Chicago and San Francisco, would be eliminated. Lawyers from the tax division and employees handling public corruption cases would be reassigned to U.S. attorneys’ offices, with a small team of supervisory attorneys remaining in Washington.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not offer immediate comments on the plan, which has not yet been finalized. Agency heads have been asked to provide feedback on the proposed changes by April 2.
