U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi removed Pamela Hicks Thursday as general counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Daily Wire reported. Hicks is just one of several holdovers from the Biden administration who have been fired in recent weeks.
President Donald Trump ordered that United States Attorneys who President Joe Biden had appointed must be terminated. This is standard procedure when a new president takes office.
"ATF’s Chief Counsel Pamela Hicks has been fired and escorted out of the Washington, D.C. headquarters. Hicks oversaw the enforcement of every Biden infringement of the Second Amendment since taking the position in 2021 " Gun Owners of America said in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
🚨BREAKING🚨
ATF’s Chief Counsel Pamela Hicks has been fired and escorted out of the Washington, D.C. headquarters.
Hicks oversaw the enforcement of every Biden infringement of the Second Amendment since taking the position in 2021. pic.twitter.com/Cvg8HN2gvP
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 20, 2025
Although it is standard procedure for the incoming administration to clean house, Trump had a particular mission informed by what he's been through. "Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before," Trump wrote to his Truth Social.
"Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys. We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System — THAT BEGINS TODAY!" Trump added.
Bondi agrees with Trump's assessment of the problems with the justice system and has taken up the task. While speaking on the podcast "Verdict" with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bondi said that she was "concerned" about the extent of the rot but that they were "working on" replacing holdovers, according to Fox News.
"We're working on it. It's day by day by day, but we've got a team of great people. And on day one, I issued 14 executive orders. And number one is the weaponization ends. And it ends now. And that's what we did."
She also said that the Department of Justice has "lost its mission of fighting violent crime" while actively working against Trump. "Look what they did to President Trump. Look at the weaponization," Bondi said.
Meanwhile, although Hicks served as deputy chief counsel of the agency during Trump's first administration, she loyally carried out the Second Amendment crackdowns during her tenure with the Biden ATF. In her post to Linked In, Hicks had only positive things to say about her tenure.
"Earlier today, I was served official notice from the Attorney General of the United States that I was being removed from my position as the Chief Counsel of ATF and my employment with the Department of Justice terminated. I have had the privilege of serving in the federal civil service for almost 28 years, including 23 as an attorney for the Department of Justice," she wrote.
"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," Hicks said in her post.
While Bondi chips away at the top leadership, The Hill reported that Trump has been greenlighted for mass firings in the federal government. Several government employee unions sued the president, but the court ruled this week that he could proceed with the firings.
Trump learned his lesson the hard way regarding trusting holdovers from the previous administration. Now, he's doing his best to clear out all of the dead wood and those actively trying to harm him and his agenda, and it's about time.
