The successful confirmation of the nomination is a victory for the Biden administration and comes after a series of recent mass shootings — in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas, and Highland Park, Illinois — that have shocked the nation and led to calls for more action to address gun violence. in America.
The confirmation vote marks an important milestone, as ATF has operated under a series of acting directors since the last Senate-confirmed leader stepped down in 2015, and the Senate last confirmed an ATF nominee in 2013.
Dettelbach is a former federal prosecutor and was previously unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio under President Barack Obama.
During his confirmation hearings, he promised he would not be influenced by political considerations, saying he was dedicated to upholding the law without political interference and would do so as ATF director if confirmed.
“Politics cannot play any role in law enforcement. None,” he said at the time.
“I’ve lived that credo and I vow to continue to do so because people need to have confidence that the only agenda of people in law enforcement is to enforce the law — and if you’re in the ATF, to catch the bad guys and protect the public,” said he.
“I vow to never allow politics to influence my actions as ATF director in any way,” he added.
The White House suffered an embarrassing setback in its efforts to confirm a nominee to head the bureau last fall.
In September 2021, the White House withdrew David Chipman’s nomination to lead the bureau. Biden blamed Republicans for Chipman’s failure to be confirmed, but there were concerns about the nomination from moderate Democrats, independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and GOP senators, about the candidate’s past record on gun control.
The incident underscored the challenge of securing a successful confirmation of an ATF director given the contentious political nature of gun control policy.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
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