The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last year, under President Trump’s direction and the agency’s new stance, revoked a dramatically reduced number of gun dealer licenses.
The ATF revoked 56 licenses in 2025, down from 183 the previous year, the highest in 20 years, according to data released to USA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act.
Newly confirmed ATF Director Robert Secada will be on Capitol Hill on May 12 and May 14 to discuss the agency’s new direction. Recently, Secada announced the rollout of 34 proposed rules for the agency that are widely seen as more favorable to the firearms industry.
In February 2025, the ATF announced the end of President Biden’s “zero tolerance” policy aimed at cracking down on gun traffickers who violate federal regulations, based on orders from the Trump administration. Cekada said during the approval process that the policy’s end would “emphasize firearm traceability and public safety and de-emphasize non-essential administrative errors.”
Number of expirations per year:
| 2016 | 40 |
| 2017 | 37 |
| 2018 | 51 |
| 2019 | 43 |
| 2020 | 33 |
| 2021 | 43 |
| 2022 | 113 |
| 2023 | 181 |
| 2024 | 183 |
| 2025 | 56 |
Industry leaders like Larry Keene of the National Shooting Sports Foundation praised the softer approach to gun dealers. He cited the “breakneck” pace of revocations under the Biden administration amid “the politicization of the ATF to attack the firearms industry.”
Keene denounced the practice of posting revoked licenses on the ATF’s website during the Biden administration, calling it a “politically motivated defamation campaign.” President Trump’s ATF has abolished this practice.
In a separate policy, ATF released a list of targeted sellers who sell the most guns used in crimes each year. USA TODAY obtained and published the list in 2024. Again, this policy was suspended last year when Trump installed new leadership for the ATF.
Democratic senators pressed Mr. Secada during the confirmation process about why the program was suspended.
Secada responded that the suspension was triggered by “advocacy groups’ efforts to misrepresent (the program).”
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins will host a May 14 hearing to question Mr. Secada about his compliance with rules that keep most gun dealer names and firearm tracking data from the public.
Before the suspension, the ATF told gun dealers that a crime gun enforcement program was in place. In a letter reviewed by USA TODAY, gun retailers targeted by the program were told that since its inception in 2000, the agency’s tracking center has successfully traced 269,000 firearms through their records.
Beth Chatelain, a former ATF attorney who now counsels gun dealers at Zerod in Legal Solutions, said the changes are in line with political trends but won’t necessarily last.
“You may not feel threatened and you won’t get your license revoked for breathing incorrectly. The problem is when the seesaw swings again,” Chatelain said. “The actions you’re taking today are certainly part of your record, and all it takes is another change of focus and direction.”
Canceled stores are closed, some reopened
The list of 56 distributors whose licenses have been revoked includes a number of high-profile cases that have been fought in court or made headlines in recent years.
Grips by Rally, an Arizona store, will lose its license in 2025. The store, owned by Lawrence Gray, closed in 2025 after Gray was indicted for gun trafficking along with a Tucson man.
In March 2026, a federal grand jury added more serious charges, alleging the store provided material support to two Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The store in Leesburg, Ohio, was forced to close last year after the ATF revoked its license. Crosshairs Armament was operated by John Duncan and his wife, and was in violation of ATF regulations in what Duncan said was a “humbling experience for us.”
The store has now reopened in the same location under a new name: Rezadoo Firearms.
“I made a mistake based on a lack of knowledge,” Duncan said. “Under the Biden administration, the ATF has been weaponized and seems to enjoy humiliating us with administrative errors.”
Duncan said business has been slow since the store reopened under the Trump administration. He said he believes it’s because high gas prices are preventing customers from purchasing firearms.
Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter with the USA TODAY investigative team. Contact us at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler or Signal (720) 507-5273.
