Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll speaks Jan. 30, 2025, during his Senate confirmation hearing. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has been appointed as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, replacing FBI Director Kash Patel in that job, a defense official confirmed Wednesday.

The defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Driscoll will “dual hat” as Army secretary and acting ATF director but did not have more information to provide.

The ATF did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Driscoll was sworn in as Army secretary in February to lead the largest military branch. He served in the Army after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in three years. Military service is a family tradition: Driscoll’s father served in Vietnam and his grandfather was a decoder during World War II.

In the Army, Driscoll completed Army Ranger School, earning a Ranger tab, and served as an armor officer. He deployed to Iraq from October 2009 to July 2010 with the 10th Mountain Division and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the combat action badge.

Upon leaving service in 2011 at the rank of first lieutenant, Driscoll used the post-9/11 GI Bill to attend Yale Law School. He became friends with Vice President JD Vance at Yale and later served as his senior adviser.

Patel was sworn in as ATF’s acting director in late February, just a few days after he was also sworn in as FBI director.