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The Biden administration on Thursday will withdraw the appointment of David Chipman, a former federal agent who promised to crack down on the use of semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity gun magazines, to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to five people with knowledge of the situation.
The pullout is a major setback for President Biden’s plan to curb gun violence after several mass shootings this year, and comes after his efforts to expand background checks on blocked gun purchases in Congress in the face of the unified republican opposition.
The selection of Mr Chipman, a longtime ATF official who served as a consultant to the gun safety group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, drew a powerful backlash from the National Rifle Association and d other pro-gun organizations that have called his confirmation a threat. to their Second Amendment rights.
Mr Biden, who chose Mr Chipman after coming under pressure from Ms Giffords and other gun control supporters, needed the support of the 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats and the decisive vote of the Deputy President Kamala Harris for confirmation from Mr. Chipman.
In recent weeks, Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who meets with Democrats, told officials in Biden’s administration and leadership that he could not support the nomination, citing public statements brutals Mr. Chipman had made about gun owners, people familiar with the situation said.
In a contentious confirmation hearing in May, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee seized on those comments – including an interview in which Mr Chipman compared the purchase of weapons during the pandemic to a zombie apocalypse.
West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin III, who initially suggested he was open to choice, ended up getting bitter about selection as well.
Mr Chipman’s appointment stalled on the committee, but was signaled to the Senate for a vote through parliamentary maneuver. He never received one.
This is Mr Biden’s second high-profile appointment to be withdrawn due to lack of Democratic backing. In March, Neera Tanden, her choice to head the budget office, withdrew from the controversy after an outcry over her caustic public statements. She was then hired as a political advisor in the West Wing.
As Mr Chipman’s confirmation hopes dwindled this summer, White House officials began discussing his integration into the administration as an adviser, but no decision was made. The administration has no immediate plans to nominate a new candidate, according to a person involved in the process who spoke on condition of anonymity.
As recently as last month, the White House signaled that it was standing by its candidate’s side, praising Mr Chipman’s 25 years of experience as an ATF agent, but also acknowledging the uphill battle that he had to lead to get confirmation. White House officials blamed only Republican lawmakers, ignoring opposition from Democratic caucus members.
“We are disappointed that many Republicans are advancing in leaps and bounds in an attempt to delay his appointment and handcuff the main federal law enforcement agency charged with combating gun crimes,” said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, in August. “It says a lot about their utter refusal to tackle the spike in crime we’ve seen over the past 18 months.”
The withdrawal had previously been reported by the Washington Post.
In the 48 years that have passed since its mission turned primarily to firearms enforcement, the ATF has been weakened by relentless assaults from the NRA, which critics say have turned it into an agency designed to fail.
Fifteen years ago, the NRA succeeded in pushing for the director’s appointment to be subject to Senate confirmation – and subsequently helped prevent all but one of the candidates from taking office.
And at the request of the NRA, Congress limited the office’s budget; imposed crippling restrictions on the collection and use of firearm possession data, including a ban on requiring basic inventories of weapons from arms dealers; and limited unannounced inspections of firearms dealers.
Annie karni contributed reports.
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