The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Steven Dettelbach to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, meaning the top agency that enforces federal gun laws will have a permanent director for the first time in seven years.
The final vote was 48 to 46. Every Democrat present voted to confirm Dettelbach. Two Republicans joined them: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio.
Dettelbach’s confirmation is a major victory for President Joe Biden and for gun safety advocates, who have fought for years to put someone in charge permanently at ATF.
“After years of obstruction by the gun lobby, the Senate has finally confirmed a permanent director to lead the ATF,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “While certainly not a panacea to the gun violence epidemic plaguing our nation, having Mr. Dettelbach at the helm of the ATF will ensure the feds have all hands on deck in the fight to stop gun trafficking, prevent illegal possession of firearms, and make sure our kids can’t get their hands on dangerous weapons.”
The position of ATF director has long faced opposition from gun rights groups that don’t want anyone confirmed to run the agency that’s charged with regulating them. As a result, ATF has only had one Senate-confirmed director in 16 years.
Republicans didn’t make it easy for Dettelbach. Last month, every single GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against advancing his nomination out of the committee, leading to a tied vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had to force Dettelbach’s nomination out of the committee by taking an extra procedural step.
Dettelbach, who has a two-decade career as a Justice Department prosecutor and was endorsed for this post by virtually every major law enforcement organization in the country, is Biden’s second pick for the job. The president’s first choice, David Chipman, failed to advance last year after a handful of Democrats wouldn’t support him, in addition to Republicans’ routine opposition to ATF nominees.
A likely reason Dettelbach’s nomination gained momentum is because of the country’s seemingly never-ending series of mass shootings, including the horrific attack in May at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
That shooting spurred Congress last month to pass the most significant federal gun legislation in decades. Now enshrined in law, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes modest curbs on obtaining firearms, plus money to bolster mental health care and school security. It also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” prohibiting romantic partners convicted of domestic violence who are not married to their victims from getting firearms.
The law didn’t include broader restrictions sought by gun control advocates, however, like bans on assault weapons, raising the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles to 21, or requiring background checks on internet sales and at gun shows.