No Path For Confirmation To ATF For Chipman? Biden Admin: “Not Over ‘Till It’s Over!”

Op-Ed via The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN). 

In late May, Biden’s pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, David Chipman, sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was questioned why his nomination should move forward to the Senate for a full vote to confirm him to lead the agency.

During this, Chipman spoke on his willingness to ban average semi-automatic sporting rifles that are in common use. He was also questioned about his time as a lobbyist for most of the major anti-gun organizations.

Since that hearing took place in late May, Chipman’s nomination has worked itself out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a contentious party-line vote. But since being out of committee, there has not yet been a full senate vote on Chipman, and we’re now at the beginning of September.

It seems like a long time to wait for a vote. There’s a reason for it, though. David Chipman is an anti-gun activist who’s been tapped to lead the agency that focuses on America’s gun laws. Think of it like this: An inverse would be a Republican president nominating Wayne LaPierre (the head of the NRA) to lead the ATF.

In fact, David Chipman’s nomination is so controversial that some moderate Democrats won’t vote for him. Specifically, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Angus King of Maine.

All these Senators are under significant pressure from pro-gun groups nationally and local ones and their constituents. With the midterms coming up, many are worried that a vote for Chipman could be the action that loses them their seat.

The most telling thing over time has been the attitude of the corporate media. In July, headlines read: “David Chipman is the Right Choice for ATF,” but as time passed, even CNN has had to admit that “Biden’s ATF Pick faces grim confirmation prospects.”

Most recently, anti-gun activists have urged Biden to bypass Congress and create an office on gun violence, giving Chipman a job without having the Senate confirm him. Earlier this year, we saw a similar situation when Neera Tanden, who was up to be Biden’s budget director, withdrew her nomination after combative tweets about lawmakers in both parties resurfaced. Two months after she withdrew her nomination, Biden appointed her to a senior adviser position.

This is becoming likely as Chipman’s nomination becomes more imperiled as the days go by. Most recently, Sen. Angus King signaled to the Biden administration that he is not supportive of Chipman.

Only time will tell what will happen with Chipman, but now more than ever, it is essential for gun owners to keep calling their Senators and making their voices heard. If Chipman makes it into the ATF, it pushes us all one step closer to the goal of the anti-gun lobby, total disarmament of the population.

TMGN’s Steph Krop explains it’s looking like the hard work of gun owners is paying off with media and news reports since David Chipman’s confirmation hearing becoming increasingly agitated and negative. She provides a recap of the last few months of what’s been going on with the nomination of Chipman to head the ATF.

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… and if readers want to learn more about possible future gun policy via TMGN, they’ve laid out the “puzzle pieces” of how the ATF has plans to classify semi-automatic rifles, such as the AR-15, as “machine guns.”