Judiciary Committee deadlocks on Biden’s pick to head ATF

The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11-11 Thursday morning on a vote to advance President Biden’s nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steve Dettelbach. 

The tie sets up a Senate floor vote later Thursday on a motion to discharge Dettelbach out of committee, with a final confirmation vote expected next week.  

Two key centrists, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), said last week they would vote for Dettelbach, giving him the votes he needs to win confirmation.  

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), another key vote, also says he will back Dettelbach.  

Confirming Dettelbach would be a welcome victory for Biden after the president withdrew his first choice to lead the ATF, David Chipman, last year.  

Chipman, a former ATF agent, became a high-profile gun-control advocate after leaving law enforcement, working for Giffords, a group led by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) that advocates for stricter gun control.  

Dettelbach is a former U.S. attorney who was nominated by a Harvard Law classmate, former President Obama, in 2009. He later headed white collar investigations at the law firm BakerHostetler.  

Biden praised Dettelbach in April as “immensely qualified.”  

The ATF has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2015.

“Dettelbach unquestionably deserved bipartisan support, but either way he’s going to move forward,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday morning.

Schumer also said a fully functional ATF is needed to keep American communities safe from illegal gun trafficking and violence.

“We need a fully functional, fully staffed ATF in order for that agency to fulfill its mission of keeping our communities safe from gun violence,” he said.

–Updated at 10:42 a.m.