An 18-year-old gunman on Tuesday shot dead 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school before being killed by law enforcement officials, officials said. It is the deadliest shooting at a school since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut that left 26 people dead, including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7.
The tragedy has shocked the nation and increased pressure on Congress and the president to take action, though Democrats can do little to pass stricter gun control measures in a 50-50 Senate amid opposition generalized republican.
In this context, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the appointment of Steve Dettelbach to lead the ATF during a hearing on Wednesday. Dettelbach is a former federal prosecutor and was previously unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio under President Barack Obama. The ATF has operated under a number of acting directors since its last Senate-confirmed leader resigned. in 2015, and the Senate last confirmed an ATF candidate in 2013.
In statements to the committee, Dettelbach addressed the school shooting, calling the pain that families and the community now feel “unimaginable.”
Dettelbach argued that he is committed to keeping the law free from political interference and that he would do so in the position of director of the ATF if confirmed.
“Politics can play no role in law enforcement. None,” he said.
“I worked under Republican administrations, and I worked under Democratic administrations as a federal prosecutor, and I’ve lived that credo, and I swear to keep doing it because people have to have confidence that the only agenda for law enforcement is to enforce. the law … – and if you’re in the ATF to catch the bad guys and protect the public, “he said.
“I promise I will never let politics in any way influence my action as director of the ATF,” he added.
Democrats used the hearing to argue that the candidate should be confirmed quickly after the recent mass shootings and to emphasize the importance of the office and the job of the agency. Republicans used their questions to table the candidate on controversial issues, such as the candidate’s expression of his past support for an assault weapons ban.
Dettelbach could be confirmed in the Senate without a GOP vote if all Democrats vote in favor and Vice President Kamala Harris breaks the tie.
But democratic unity is not guaranteed on the controversial issue of arms policy. And the White House has already suffered a shameful setback from its efforts to confirm a candidate to run for office last fall.
In September 2021, the White House withdrew the nomination of David Chipman to head the office. Biden blamed Republicans for failing to confirm Chipman, although there had been strong resistance between moderate Democrats and Maine Independent Senator Angus King, as well as Republican senators, over Chipman’s past record of controlling Chipman. weapons.
The incident exposed the reality of trying to confirm someone to a post that has made previous comments on a topic as sensitive and divisive as gun control. Dettelbach made it clear that he supported universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons during his candidacy for Ohio attorney general in 2018, positions that now attract scrutiny while the Senate verifies his nomination.
However, in support of the effort to confirm the candidate, King said he is “willing to support” Dettelbach for the job.
King told CNN that his meeting with Dettelbach was “very good” and that his “attitude” was very different from Chipman’s. “This guy is the right guy,” he said.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Jon Tester told CNN they had good meetings with Dettelbach, but would wait until today’s hearing to make a decision on his nomination.
Candidate criticized by Republicans for position on assault weapons
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas pressured the candidate to define the term assault weapon after noting that during the 2018 Dettelbach campaign for the Ohio Attorney General he supported a ban.
“What is an assault weapon, can you define it for me?” Cotton asked.
“When I was a candidate for office, I talked about restrictions on assault weapons. I didn’t define the term and I didn’t go through the process of defining that term. That would only be for Congress if I chose to take it.” said the candidate.
“I recognize that this is a very difficult issue. This is for this body to decide,” he added.
“I think it’s very revealing that you’re appointed to lead the ATF and you don’t have a definition of an assault weapon,” Cotton said. “The point is, there really isn’t a category of weapons known as assault weapons. There are rifles, there are shotguns, there are guns, they have properties, they have features, but there is no weapon category. of assault “.
Democrats are calling for quick confirmation following recent shootings
Senate President Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called Dettelbach “well-qualified” during the hearing. “This is an agency that has the technical capacity to help us solve gun crimes and keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them,” he said.
Some Democratic senators referred to the Texas Elementary School shooting, as well as a recent mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, to argue the need to quickly confirm a new ATF principal.
“We can’t afford to say anything in the future, somehow we’ll take action. I think the least we can do is deliver a Senate-confirmed leader for the ATF,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware. .
Durbin called the tragedy “devastating” and “inconceivable.”
Durbin will work with fellow Democrats to schedule hearings on armed violence in America when lawmakers return from Memorial Day recess, he said.
He said Democrats are committed to the action, but acknowledged it would be a boost to get Republican votes.
“The president was right: it’s time for us to stand up and fight as a nation,” Durbin said. “We are reluctant to call ourselves leaders in this country if we do not.