Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, is likely to resign within the next day or two, CNN reports.
The news comes in the wake of revelations about a controversial effort known as "Operation Fast and Furious" in which straw buyers were allowed to purchase large numbers of weapons, some of which ended up in the hands of members of Mexican cartels, the news agency reports.
The operation had come under intense criticism since the December killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, according to CNN.
The idea behind the operation was to follow people who legally bought weapons that then were transferred to criminals. The intention was that once weapons that surfaced in Mexico were traced back to straw purchasers, the arms smuggling network could be brought down, CNN reports.
Attorney General Eric Holder will meet tomorrow with Andrew Traver, head of the ATF office in Chicago, about replacing Melson, CNN reports.
Doug is an unrepentant news junkie who loves breaking news and has been known to watch C-SPAN even on vacation. He has covered a wide range of domestic and international news stories, from prison riots in Oklahoma to the Moscow coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Doug previously served as foreign editor at USA TODAY. More about Doug
Michael Winter has been a daily contributor to On Deadline since its debut in January 2006. His journalism career began in the prehistoric Ink Era, and he was an early adapter at the dawn of the Digital Age. His varied experience includes editing at the San Jose Mercury News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.