Senate Republicans so far unanimously oppose President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, guaranteeing he’ll remain in limbo until Democratic holdouts make up their minds.
“I can’t think of a single Republican, at this point, who I would expect to lose on that,” Senate Minority Whip and chief vote-counter John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Tuesday.
Several centrist Democrats have not decided on ATF nominee David Chipman, leaving his nominations stalled.
Democrats control 50 votes and can confirm Chipman without any help from Republicans, but only with unanimous support from all lawmakers in their party. Chipman is a longtime gun control advocate, and his views on firearms could make supporting him risky for Democrats from pro-gun states.
With full Democratic support, Chipman could only be confirmed if a few Republicans decided to vote for him, but Thune said it’s unlikely.
“We haven’t whipped it, but he seems to be so far from the mainstream that he’s got problems even among some Democrats,” Thune said.
If confirmed, Chipman would be charged with enforcing current federal gun laws. Republicans argue Chipman is too wedded to his gun control activism for the post, while Democrats say his longtime experience as a 20-year ATF veteran and his understanding of firearms make him a perfect fit for the job.
Undecided Democrats include Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Jon Tester, of Montana.
