The confirmation vote marks a major milestone since the ATF has operated under a series of acting directors since its last Senate-confirmed leader resigned 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 not to be swayed by political considerations, saying he is committed to upholding the law without political interference and would do so as ATF director if confirmed. “Politics can play no role in law enforcement. None,” he said at the time. “I lived that faith and I vow to continue to do so because people need to have confidence that law enforcement’s only agenda is to enforce the law — and if you’re in the ATF to catch bad guys and protect the public “, he said. “I vow to never let politics influence my actions as ATF director,” he added. The White House suffered an embarrassing setback in its efforts to confirm a presidential nominee last fall. In September 2021, the White House withdrew its nomination of David Chipman to lead the bureau. Biden blamed Republicans for failing to confirm Chipman, but there were concerns about the nomination from moderate Democrats, independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and GOP senators about the nominee’s record on gun control. The incident highlighted the challenge of securing successful confirmation of an ATF director, given the controversial political nature of gun control policy. CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
