A group of Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill filed a bill on the opening day of the 119th Congress that would scrap the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

The "Abolish the ATF Act" was filed as H.R.129 in the U.S. House on Jan. 3, just after Congress was sworn in for the 2025-26 term. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and backed by eight GOP co-sponsors, the proposal is framed as a move to safeguard lawful gun owners from increasing bureaucratic overreach.

"I cannot imagine under any circumstance or administration where the ATF serves as an ally to the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearm owners across America," said Boebert in a statement. "The ATF should be abolished before they eventually abolish our Second Amendment." 

The language of the one-page measure is simple and without ambiguity: "The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is hereby abolished."

One of the co-sponsors of the measure, U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), intends to introduce legislation to repeal the "oppressive 1934 National Firearms Act that unjustly taxes, registers, and restricts American gun owners."

Of note, the current ATF director, Steve Dettelbach, has already delivered his looming resignation, timed to become effective just before President Trump's inauguration. Likewise, Trump has not announced a successor to the post.