Trump Officials With More Than One Job After Kash Patel 'Removed' From Role
By Khaleda Rahman
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FBI Director Kash Patel has been removed from his role as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Patel was sworn in as acting director of the ATF on February 24, three days after he was taking the oath as FBI director.
A Department of Justice official told Reuters on Wednesday that Patel had been replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. The official did not say why the FBI chief was removed, but said it had nothing to do with his job performance.
It was unusual for Patel to be tapped to lead two major units of the Justice Department at the same time.
FBI Director Kash Patel
FBI Director Kash Patel looks on during a press conference on illicit narcotics in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 9, 2025. Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images
White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Reuters that Patel "was briefly designated ATF director while awaiting Senate confirmations," calling it "a standard, short-term move." Fields added that "dozens of similar re-desigations have occurred across the federal government."
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via an email outside regular business hours.
As of early Thursday morning, Patel's photo and title of acting director was still listed on the ATF's website.
Patel is not the only one of President Donald Trump's appointees who was tasked with doing two or more jobs since the president returned to office in January.
There are several other top appointees tapped for multiple roles, possibly as part of efforts by Trump to install loyalists in influential positions as quickly as possible—though critics have warned that "moonlighting" in a second government job could lead to ethical issues.
Doug Collins
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Collins was sworn in as secretary of veterans affairs on February 5. Days later, Trump named him as the interim leader of the Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel after firing their previous leaders.
Daniel Driscoll
Driscoll is now serving as acting ATF director, while also the Army secretary.
Richard Grenell
Trump tapped Grenell to serve as an envoy for special missions. In February, the president said he will also serve as the interim executive director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Marco Rubio
Rubio was sworn in as the secretary of state on January 21. In early February, he was also appointed acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Rubio is also acting archivist of the U.S.
Russ Vought
Vought is budget director and also leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Steve Witkoff
Trump made his longtime friend Witkoff his Middle East envoy shortly after he won back the White House in November, and has also tasked him with negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
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