Trump appointee's disappearing act has key department at a standstill: report

Donald Trump's decision to hand newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel the reins as the interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), has to the department being adrift with Patel reportedly ignoring his duties.

According to a report from the Washington Post, since being tasked with running the department and overseeing its 5,000 employees, Patel made a brief appearance and has since been a no-show at the headquarters leaving staffers adrift and wondering what is next.

As the Post's Perry Stein and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez wrote, "Patel arrived at ATF’s Northeast Washington headquarters, snapped photos in the lobby, met career leaders and commended their work, according to multiple people familiar with the visit. But since then, Patel has not returned, and there appears to be scant communication between the acting director and the people who work for the 5,000-person agency, said the people familiar with the situation."

ALSO READ: ‘I miss lynch mobs’: The secretary of retribution's followers are getting impatient

The controversial Patel, who was made the new FBI director by the scantest of margins in a Senate vote, now has ATF staffers wondering about their jobs going forward.

Reporting that worries about the department has "been percolating for weeks," the Post reports adds, "Multiple people familiar with hiring process said the Trump administration has interviewed candidates to lead the agency, but the president so far has not nominated anyone. The administration hasn’t made major personnel changes at ATF during its first two months, though there have been some shake-ups."

RELATED: Kash Patel had floor cleared at FBI with staffers told to pack up their desks: MSNBC

According to one White House insider, "“By tapping Patel as Acting Director, the President may well be telegraphing his intent to eventually abolish the ATF, first by eliminating its bad parts and then by folding the good parts, like the arson and ballistics labs, into the FBI."

You can read more here.