David Chipman, Joe Biden’s choice to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is in danger of not being confirmed in the Senate thanks to his work with an anti-Second Amendment group and his withholding of vital information during his confirmation hearing.
Several moderate Democratic senators, including Angus King of Maine and Jon Tester of Montana, don’t believe that Chipman can work with the gun industry. Other Democrats like Senators Joe Manchin question his veracity after Chipman withheld the fact that he made an appearance on a Chinese state-run propaganda outlet that was used by the Communists to explain away a mass stabbing.
“Earlier this week, news reports indicated that Mr. Chairman had failed to disclosure to our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee a TV appearance he made several years ago,” stated Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And this wasn’t just any TV appearance. Mr. Chipman had granted the interview to a propaganda network overseen by the Chinese government.”
McConnell also expressed concerns over new racially discriminatory comments Chipman allegedly made regarding personnel decisions. A report by The Reload recently corroborated allegations that Chipman made racially insensitive comments about the promotion of Black ATF agents in the past.
“Among some current and former ATF agents he’s earned a concerning reputation as ‘a bully, an activist.’ His extreme views threaten to undermine the trust an agency needs to conduct oversight. And sources at the ATF have also come forward describing allegedly racially discriminatory comments that nominee made in the workplace, regarding personnel decisions.”
But Republican opposition isn’t really Biden’s main problem. Biden has to convince Democrats to support his man, and it doesn’t look good at this point. There is little chance that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will bring the nomination to the Senate floor before the August recess given the tight Senate schedule. The longer that the nominee remains in limbo, the stronger the opposition to his nomination will get.
On Thursday, Sen. Dick Durbin, the number two Senate Democrat who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, could not say if the nomination would get a vote before senators leave for the August break – likely sometime next week.
“We need more time for all the nominations we have,” Durbin told CNN when asked if there was enough time to get a vote on Chipman as the Senate is consumed with an infrastructure package and budget resolution before the August recess.
When pushed on whether the nomination would have to wait until senators returned from recess in September, the usually chatty Durbin said: “I don’t know.”
Chipman is a bona fide gun-grabber — a legitimate threat to American’s Second Amendment rights. He worked for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence — a group that does not believe gun rights are guaranteed by the Constitution.
Biden should have chosen someone to lead the ATF who wanted to safeguard our rights, not destroy them.
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