There hasn’t been much of a success in placing a permenate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director….
Gun Control foes in the Senate ( Republican AND Democrat) do NOT support hard anti-gun guys nominted to run the agency….
The boss there tends to be a Presidential temp’s holding the spot….
President Joe Biden wants the Senate to do something it’s only done once in the past 16 years: confirm someone as the nation’s top gun regulator. It’s not going to be easy.
After the White House yanked its initial pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in September, the Biden administration and gun safety advocates are pushing for the chamber to swiftly confirm Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney. And everyone involved knows time is not on Democrats’ side: With control of the upper chamber in play this fall, Dettelbach may be Biden’s best and final chance to have a Senate-confirmed ATF director during his presidency.
The agency needs a head with the permanence of Senate approval to have the best chance at implementing Biden’s guns agenda. With little hope for bipartisan compromise on the issue in a 50-50 Senate, particularly as the midterm elections approach, Democrats are increasingly imploring the White House to take unilateral action on gun control on a smaller scale than Congress has envisioned in previous attempts at a legislative deal.
But a number of key Senate Democratic caucus members are noncommittal on Dettelbach, who supported an assault weapons ban and universal background checks during his failed bid for attorney general of Ohio in 2018. That includes those who privately opposed or didn’t back Biden’s last nominee: Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). All three are set to speak or meet with Dettelbach in the coming weeks, critical conversations that will determine his fate on the Senate floor….