In December, MuckRock journalists, with the help of Data Liberation Project volunteers, went through responses to our callout on presidential transition materials, including exit ethics briefings, transition materials and more information on security clearances for Trump appointees.
So far, we have received responses from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
NARA provided its presidential transition briefing book, including an outline of potential briefing topics like the Presidential Records Act and the handling of presidential gifts. The agency also provided an overview of the agency’s budget challenges.
Recently, the ATF provided its budget summary as well as research for emerging concerns in the future.
Here are just a few things we’ve found in their transition briefing materials. You can find the full response on DocumentCloud.
Agency finances
In their budget summary, the agency claims it needs an additional $250 million for FY 2025 to “sustain operations and its progress in fighting violent crime.”
The agency claims funding cuts for FY 2024 has limited their ability to hire staff and will lead to an “undeniable reduction in public safety.” Because of this gap in appropriations, the agency has also seen what is calls a “dramatic” decrease in the number of onboarding Special Agents and expects the number of these agents to decrease over time.
‘Emerging threats’
The ATF shared research on emerging threats, including illegal machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), which are 3D printed devices that are often difficult to track. According to the report, there is no regulation preventing people from possessing these devices, even though the Department of Justice has said they were illegal.
The agency also highlighted how 3D technologies have increased the production of Privately Made Firearms (PMFs), also known as ghost guns.
New developments
In its budget request for FY 2025, the agency included a $49.3 million update to the physical infrastructure of the ATF’s National Services Center to “expand the Bureau’s abilities to combat violent gun crime.”
If you want to follow along with this project, we’ve created a project page for the 2024 presidential transition where you can find all our requests in one place. We’ll also be adding all documents to DocumentCloud. To keep tabs on a single request, you can go to the individual request page and hit the ‘follow’ button.
