House appropriators press DOJ on $34 billion FY2026 budget, proposed ATF–DEA merger and grant cuts

Attorney General Pam Bondi told the House Appropriations subcommittee that the Department of Justice’s fiscal year 2026 budget request totals just under $34,000,000,000 and is intended to “return the department to its core mission of keeping Americans safe.”

Members of the subcommittee pressed Bondi on specific proposals in the request, including a roughly $3,000,000,000 reduction from FY2025, a proposed merger of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the elimination or reduction of several grant programs that fund state and local law enforcement and community programs.

The funding request, as described by the chair, would allocate about $11,000,000,000 to target violent crime, $10,000,000,000 to drug enforcement, roughly $3,000,000,000 to fight transnational organized crime, and over $3,500,000,000 for immigration enforcement. Bondi said the budget also seeks efficiencies by merging overlapping components so “we will emerge from this work as a leaner organization better equipped to keep the American people safe.”

Ranking members and Democrats on the panel responded by citing document language and program details they say show deeper effects than Bondi described. Representative DeLauro read from the department’s performance summary and said the budget “explicitly says … ATF will eliminate 541 industry operation investigators, reducing ATF’s capacity to regulate the firearms and explosive industries by approximately 40% in fiscal year 2026,” and that it “anticipates a reduction of approximately 284 support personnel and 186 agents based on historical attrition patterns.” DeLauro said those cuts would reduce ATF support for state and local law enforcement.

Bondi defended the reorganization and said the move is intended to put agents “out on the streets” to work jointly with federal drug investigators, arguing “guns and drugs go together.” She said the department is not firing agents and attributed staff reductions to attrition rather than dismissals. “ATF agents want to be out on the street,” Bondi said.

Lawmakers also pushed about investigative and forensic capabilities that could be affected. Bondi said the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) would not be cut and that ATF is being funded for that program: “ATF’s receiving $66,000,000. It's an important program.” She described NIBIN and other forensic supports as critical to partnerships with roughly 7,200 state and local partners.

Several members questioned the loss of grant funding that supports local policing and community programs. Ranking Member Meng and Representative DeLauro raised the elimination of programs aimed at hate‑crime prevention and community relations, noting the Community Based Approaches to Advancing Justice program and other grants and asking why they were proposed for termination. Bondi said the department has restored some grants “on a case by case basis” and invited members to submit lists of grants they ask to be reinstated.

On drug enforcement, Bondi pointed to recent operations as evidence the department is concentrating resources: she cited Operation Raptor, an FBI‑led effort that the department said seized 144 kilos of fentanyl and led to 270 arrests across four continents, and a DEA operation that seized 412 kilos of fentanyl pills and 11.5 kilos of powder across five states. Bondi also provided DEA seizure figures she said were current to her testimony: “Since January 2025, the DEA has already seized 41,500,000 fentanyl pills and 4,470 kilos of fentanyl powder.”

Members asked for additional detail and written follow‑ups. Several requested the department produce more specific staffing and attrition projections and to clarify which grant lines and programs would be restored. Bondi offered to meet with members and staff individually and to accept written materials; she said her team had already reinstated 13 previously suspended grants after outreach.

There was no formal committee action or vote at the hearing. Members from both parties framed concerns about the proposed resource shifts as questions about operational capacity and local impacts rather than a single policy endorsement or rejection.

The hearing record includes multiple follow‑up requests; the subcommittee allowed members seven days to submit questions for the record.

Ending: Bondi concluded by saying the budget “will allow us to continue doing our crucial work” and repeated that the department is seeking efficiencies while prioritizing violent‑crime and drug enforcement. The committee did not take legislative action during the hearing and asked for written follow‑up information from the department.