Attorney General Pam Bondi removed the general counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday morning, terminating her employment with the Justice Department.
Pamela Hicks, a 23-year veteran of the department, confirmed she was fired on LinkedIn. She did not say whether she was given a reason for the removal, but she is one of several general counsels from Justice Department component agencies to be fired or resign in the first month of the Trump administration.
The FBI’s general counsel resigned earlier this month, according to people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss information that has not been made public. Sam Ramer — who worked in the Justice Department and White House during the first Trump administration, then worked in private practice — is expected to be the FBI’s next general counsel, those people said.
The Bureau of Prison’s general counsel also announced plans to retire later this month, according to union leaders and an internal email provided to the Post.
Hicks’s removal appears to be part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to purge thousands of federal employees with career service protections across the government.
At the Justice Department, the focus has been on
high level career officials at main headquarters and the FBI, as well as prosecutors who brought cases against Donald Trump and rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on. Jan. 6, 2021.
There have not yet been many shake-ups at ATF, which is responsible for regulating the sales and licensing of firearms in the country. Trump, who opposes tighter gun regulations, has not yet nominated a director to head the 5,000-person agency.
Hicks served as the top lawyer at ATF since 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. During the first Trump administration, she was deputy chief counsel.
“Serving as ATF Chief Counsel has been the highest honor of my career and working with the people at ATF and throughout the Department has been a pleasure. I thank my colleagues for their friendship and partnership over the years,” she wrote.
In law enforcement agencies, the general counsel’s office is often responsible for telling agents what they are legally allowed to do during an investigation. At ATF, the general counsel is also responsible for implementing gun laws passed by Congress.
The Trump administration has not made clear its plans for ATF — an agency that Republicans have long viewed as a political entity that aims to regulate guns beyond what the Second Amendment allows.
The ATF has only had two Senate-approved directors since the position started requiring Senate confirmation in 2006. During the Biden administration, congressional Republicans slashed the agency’s budget.
Defenders of ATF say the agency is apolitical, generally focused on fighting gun violence across the country. They credit ATF with helping
drive down violent crime, citing strong relationships with local law enforcement, effective training on how to handle and prosecute gun cases and proper use of new gun-tracing technology.
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