Attorney General Pam Bondi went toe-to-toe with a top House Democrat on Monday regarding a plan to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the cuts that are likely to result.

Bondi testified in front of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on the Department of Justice’s budget request for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the purple-haired ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, challenged Bondi on the budget request that proposes a 25.7% cut to ATF from the previous fiscal year, and how it will impact ATF’s ability “to help our state and local law enforcement fight illegal gun trafficking?”

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