President Biden should withdraw nomination; short of withdrawal, Senate should withhold consent

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2022) – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today it has sent a letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary demanding that it “exercise its constitutional authority, and moral duty, to withhold consent” of President Biden’s nomination of Steve Dettlebach for the position of Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 

“FPC not only opposes President Biden’s nomination of Steve Dettelbach to lead the ATF, we condemn his nomination as yet another naked attempt to weaponize federal law enforcement against peaceable gun owners nationwide,” reads the letter, which is authored by Matthew Larosiere, FPC policy counsel. “Mr. Dettelbach, as a nominee, is light on substance but heavy on partisan loyalty and anti-gun-owner ideology. The People of the United States, and peaceable gun owners, do not need a hostile ideologue leading a law enforcement agency tasked with regulating the firearms community.” 

FPC’s letter, addressed directly to the Committe’s chairman, Sen. Richard Durbin and ranking member, Sen. Charles Grassley, spotlights Dettlebach’s aggressive partisan reputation, embracing of “universal” background checks, published accounts of his support for “assault weapons” bans, and his promotion of anti-gun-owner causes. The letter draws parallels between Dettlebach and President Biden’s prior nominee, David Chipman, who was withdrawn having been deemed equally unqualified during a heavily-contested hearing process. While urging the President to withdraw his nomination of Dettlebach, the letter further encourages the United States Senate to “exercise its oversight powers to reign in the abuse of executive branch fiat legislation masquerading as regulatory action.”

FPC’s full letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary can be read here. Join members of the FPC Grassroots Army in opposing President Biden’s nomination of Steve Dettlebach to head the ATF at StopSteve.com. 

About FPC

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

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