Once again, Republican members of the U.S. Senate threw their weight behind President Joe Biden and Democrats’ victory on Tuesday, helping their colleagues on the other side confirm the president’s pick for ATF director.
The U.S. Senate is in more disarray than usual this week as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is absent due to Covid-19, as is Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Sen. Patrick Leahy is still recovering from a fall that required the 82-year-old Vermont Democrat to have his hip replaced. The three sidelined Democrats showed how precarious Biden’s majority has become.
Strict math meant the planned vote to confirm Biden’s second pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steve Dettelbach – was in jeopardy. Without fail, Republicans jumped in to hand victory to Joe Biden and confirm his candidacy – the first ATF director confirmed by the Senate in years.
The final vote was 48 to 46, with two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio – voted with all Democrats present to confirm Dettelbach as ATF director.
By a vote of 48 to 46 #Senate confirmed the nomination of Steven Dettelbach as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Senators Collins and Portman voted in favor. Senators not voting: Blumenthal, Leahy, Lujan, Risch, Sasse and Schumer
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) July 12, 2022
Previously, Dettelbach’s confirmation had stalled due to a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, requiring additional action by Schumer to move the nomination through a discharge petition that was passed by the full Senate with the support of Sens. Portman and Collins in order to achieve a straightforward majority needed to save a candidate who was not favorably evaluated – that is, by a majority of the affirmative votes – before the Judiciary Committee.
Both sense. Collins and Portman also voted with Democrats to advance Dettelbach’s nomination to the final vote earlier Tuesday as well.
48-46: The Senate extended Steve Dettelbach’s nomination as ATF director on a near party-line vote.
2 Republicans Collins and Portman joined all Democrats in voting yes. pic.twitter.com/0yLIe1QDWw
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) July 12, 2022
Without the support of these two Republicans, Biden’s ATF nominee might not have been saved from an unfavorable vote in the Judiciary Committee, wouldn’t have been voted on this week, or maybe wouldn’t have been confirmed at all.
Biden previously called his ATF nominee “extremely qualified” for the job, but Republicans have raised concerns about Dettelbach’s support for restrictions on Second Amendment freedoms. National regulatory authority slammed Biden’s nominee, noting that he “supported gun bans, restrictions on the legal transfer of firearms, and further expansion of prohibitions on who can legally own a gun. In tiny, it is unclear what gun control measures Dettelbach does not support,” the NRA noted.
Moreover, Gun Owners of America pointed out that Dettelbach admitted that he never owned a firearm, although he was believed to be the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and explosives.
President @JoeBidensecond @ATFHQ The director nominee is not qualified to lead this agency @davidchipman due to lack of knowledge about firearms.
Dettelbach admitted in the record that he never owned a firearm. How can a director run an agency if he has no experience in this industry?
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) July 12, 2022
