DOJ Drops Defense of Biden's ATF Dealer Overreach Rule

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's DOJ filed a motion to dismiss Texas v. ATF, abandoning the federal government's defense of the so-called 'Engaged in the Business' rule — one of the most sweeping ATF regulatory overreaches in recent memory.

The Biden-era rule dramatically expanded the definition of who qualifies as a firearms dealer required to obtain a Federal Firearms License. Under that interpretation, ordinary Americans selling personal firearms could find themselves in the ATF's crosshairs for conducting private sales without government paperwork.

Texas led the legal charge against this regulatory monster, and now the DOJ refuses to fight for it. That's not a settlement — that's a surrender.

The rule was always built on a shaky legal foundation, exploiting language in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to justify a massive expansion of ATF's authority. Gun rights advocates immediately recognized it for what it was: a backdoor attempt to end private firearms sales in America without an act of Congress.

Unelected bureaucrats at the ATF tried to rewrite federal law with a regulatory pen. Now the adults in the room are shutting it down.

This move signals a dramatic reversal from an administration that spent four years treating law-abiding gun owners as the problem. The ATF's regulatory assault on dealers, pistol brace owners, and private sellers is finally running out of runway.

Gun owners shouldn't pop the champagne yet — the rule isn't formally dead until the court acts, and no guarantee exists that a future administration won't resurrect it. The only permanent fix is Congress explicitly protecting private sales in statute.

Call your representatives today and demand they codify the right to private firearms transfers into law. One DOJ motion won't stop the next anti-gun administration from trying this again.