American Military News by Ryan Morgan 7/13/2022
On Tuesday the Senate confirmed Steven Dettelbach, President Joe Biden’s second choice to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) — which enforces the nation’s gun laws — even after the nominee admitted he has never owned a gun.
In a Tuesday afternoon floor vote, Senators voted 48-46 in favor of Dettelbach’s nomination. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Rob Portman (OH) joined 46 Democrats in approving Dettelbach’s nomination, helping Democrats reach the majority needed to confirm Dettelbach, despite the absences of Sens. Chuck Schumer (NY), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Patrick Leahy (VT) and Ben Ray Luján (NM). Republican Sens. Ben Sasse (KS) and James Risch (ID) were also absent.
In June, Dettelbach confirmed he had never owned a gun and had never been issued one in a professional capacity. Dettelbach’s expertise is as a career prosecutor. He joined the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in 1992, where he worked as a trial lawyer in the criminal section. Dettelbach volunteered with President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and Obama later nominated him to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio from 2009 to 2016. Dettelbach also ran as a Democrat candidate for Ohio’s Attorney General but lost out to Republican Dave Yost.
As the director of the ATF, Dettelbach’s responsibilities will include enforcing federal gun laws and regulations. In recent years, the ATF has repeatedly found itself in the position of reviewing the legality of new firearms and firearms parts such as bump stocks, specialized triggers and pistol braces.
Firearms Policy Coalition
@gunpolicy
Dettelbach’s nomination is nothing short of a stealth attempt by the Biden Administration to appoint someone with the same radical values as David Chipman, but without the extensive public paper trail.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/07/senate-confirms-bidens-atf-nominee-whos-never-owned-gun/
