ATF director announces resignation

Kevin Johnson | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Less than two years after a contentious Senate confirmation vote, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director B. Todd Jones announced his resignation Friday.

Jones, who in 2013 became the first permanent director for the agency in seven years, is set to leave the 5,000-member agency March 31.

Prior to his confirmation, the former U.S. attorney in Minneapolis had been serving as interim director since 2011, taking over an agency that had been rocked by a botched gun trafficking investigation that allowed hundreds of firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartel enforcers.

"ATF employees are hard-working, dedicated individuals who serve the public to make our nation safer every day," Jones said in a statement. "I will truly miss leading and working side-by-side with these men and women in their pursuit of ATF's unique law enforcement and regulatory mission.''

The ATF is the federal government's chief gun enforcement agency, whose authority also extends to investigations involving explosives and criminal gangs.

ATF Deputy Director Thomas E. Brandon will serve as acting director following Jones' departure.

"Throughout his tenure ... Todd Jones has cemented his reputation as an exemplary leader, a consummate professional and an outstanding public servant,'' Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday.