Justice Department Considers Merging DEA, ATF

An idea under consideration at the Justice Department would merge two well-known agencies into one—the DEA and the ATF. The proposal regarding the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has been floated in a new memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to department leaders, reports the Washington Post. The outlet Reuters also has seen the memo, which it describes as part of the Trump administration's push to streamline the government.

The stories emphasize that any such merger is only in the discussion stage, and the memo's purpose is to solicit feedback on whether it's feasible. That feedback is due by Wednesday. Among other cost-cutting moves suggested:

• Eliminating field offices that work on environmental and antitrust cases.
• Cutting staff in the Public Integrity Section, which handles public corruption cases.
• Moving INTERPOL Washington, which coordinates with law enforcement agencies around the world, to the US Marshals Service (which is also under the umbrella of the Justice Department).
• Reducing the number of attorneys who work on cases related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

(More DEA stories.)