Biden taps lower-key gun control advocate to run ATF after first pick failed

The White House is under pressure to ensure history does not repeat itself when its new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives director nominee finds himself before the Senate after President Joe Biden’s first choice did not garner enough support on Capitol Hill.

Steve Dettelbach, a unanimously Senate-approved former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, does not have David Chipman’s record as a dedicated anti-gun advocate. But his confirmation to become ATF’s first permanent head since 2015 will still be bogged down by politics before an expected summer crime surge and the 2022 midterm elections.