GOP Senators Demand Answers After Joe Biden ATF Caught Inflating Salaries

Two Republican senators are demanding immediate action from the Department of Justice after internal investigations revealed that senior officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) improperly reclassified employee positions to inflate pay and benefits.

As Fox News reported, rather than face disciplinary action, the officials involved were reportedly promoted during the Biden administration.

In a letter sent Friday to Attorney General Pam Bondi and ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa alleged that ATF leadership engaged in “substantial misconduct, mismanagement, abuse of power and potential criminal misconduct” by ignoring federal directives on job classification.

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The letter cites findings from two federal investigations — one by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), completed in 2020, and another by the ATF Internal Affairs Division (IAD), completed in early 2024.

According to the senators, OPM had suspended ATF’s classification authority in 2020 due to concerns about improper reclassification, but ATF officials continued to disregard directives even after the suspension was lifted in 2023.

“At minimum, Ms. Boykin’s and Mr. Bittelari’s gross misconduct demands corrective action,” the senators wrote, referring to ATF supervisors Lisa Boykin and Ralph Bittelari.

Grassley and Ernst allege that both officials knowingly approved misclassified positions, retaliated against whistleblowers, and concealed unauthorized job changes.

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The senators point to a specific case where Bittelari and Boykin relocated an officer from Phoenix to an administrative post in Washington, D.C., despite OPM identifying the position as misclassified.

Bittelari initially agreed to rescind the offer, but reversed course after discussions with Boykin. The senators allege Bittelari bypassed standard procedures and submitted the promotion directly to payroll.

In another case, Bittelari allegedly pressured a human resources classification specialist to approve a position description for the chief of ATF’s Workforce Wellness and Services Division (WWSD) as a law enforcement role.

When the specialist refused and cited OPM policy, she was reportedly threatened with insubordination.

The IAD report also found discrepancies in Boykin’s statements about when the WWSD chief began working.

Although Boykin claimed she was unsure of the timeline, emails showed the appointee had already attended meetings and worked in the role before the position was formally approved.

Despite the findings, Boykin was promoted to Chief Diversity Officer and later to “Senior Executive.”

Bittelari was promoted to a senior advisory role at the Justice Department’s Justice Management Division (JMD) and now serves as acting deputy director of human resources.

Atf Grassley 

The senators concluded their letter by requesting a formal response from the DOJ by May 23 on how it plans to address the misconduct. The Justice Department declined to comment, and the ATF did not respond to media inquiries.

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