The Senate confirmed Robert Cekada as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on April 29 in a 59-39 bipartisan vote, and within hours Cekada stood alongside acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at DOJ headquarters to unveil what Blanche called "the most comprehensive regulatory reform package in the history" of the bureau. Bearing Arms reports the package encompasses 34 notices of final and proposed rulemaking organized under five headings: Repeal, Modernize, Reduce Burden, Clarify, and Align.

The headline rollback is the formal rescission of the 2023 pistol brace rule. Multiple federal courts had already found the rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and it had been enjoined, stayed, or vacated across numerous jurisdictions. The new rulemaking removes it from the books entirely. Alongside it, ATF is partially rescinding the Biden-era "engaged in the business" regulation, which had sought to expand the definition of who must hold a federal firearms license to include private sellers making occasional trades. AmmoLand reports that ATF acknowledged the rule "has not worked as intended" and will revert to the definition Congress wrote into the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, limiting FFL requirements to those genuinely dealing in firearms for livelihood or profit.

The package also formally aligns ATF's machine gun definition with the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Garland v. Cargill, which held that bump stocks do not satisfy the statutory definition of "machine gun" under the National Firearms Act. On the NFA side, Shooting News Weekly reports that ATF is proposing to eliminate the Chief Law Enforcement Officer notification requirement for NFA applications, update interstate NFA transport rules so that trips of 365 days or fewer no longer require advance ATF approval, and allow married couples to register jointly as NFA makers or transferees without the cost and complexity of forming a gun trust.

For federal firearms licensees, the overhaul modernizes Form 4473 to allow electronic records, auto-population, and digital attachments; extends the validity period of NICS checks; and permits licensees to verify each other's credentials through ATF's online eZ Check system rather than mailing certified paper copies. Dealers whose licenses were revoked or surrendered under the now-repealed zero-tolerance enhanced enforcement policy may reapply under the revised framework.

Six Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine crossed the aisle to support Cekada's confirmation. Cekada, who joined ATF in 2005, is only the third director confirmed to lead the bureau since Congress made the position Senate-confirmable in 2006. Blanche said the package "reduces unnecessary burdens on lawful gun owners and licensed businesses, eliminates ambiguity, and helps prevent the kind of confusion that, in the past, led to inconsistent and sometimes unfair enforcement."

Comment periods for the proposed rules will be published in the Federal Register. FFLs, NFA registrants, and the estimated millions of pistol brace owners affected by the 2023 rule should watch the ATF's new reform page for applicable deadlines and final effective dates.