White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday she is “disappointed” that Republican senators are “moving in lockstep” to block the confirmation of former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive agent David Chipman, President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as the ATF’s next director.
Psaki, asked what the president is doing to lobby support for Chipman among members of the Senate, declined to read out any “private conversations” Biden has with legislators but added that “we knew this wouldn’t be easy.”
CHIPMAN NOMINEE LATEST INDICATION OF BIDEN’S GUN AGENDA
“ATF hasn’t had a confirmed director in six years, and only one confirmed director since the position became Senate-confirmable, so we’ve been eyes wide open into the challenge from the beginning,” she continued. “But we are disappointed by the fact that many Republicans are moving in lockstep to try to hold up his nomination and handcuff the chief federal law enforcement agencies tasked with fighting gun crimes.”
Psaki claimed that blocking Chipman’s confirmation “speaks volumes to their complete refusal to tackle the spike in crime we’ve seen over the last 18 months.”
She reiterated that Chipman “has 25 years of distinguished service to our country as an ATF agent” and “has the exact set of skills and experience we need to revitalize the bureau’s work to crack down on gun trafficking and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”
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You can watch Wednesday’s entire briefing below.
