Biden nominates Steve Dettelbach for top guns post

President Biden will nominate Steve Dettelbach, former federal attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Biden called Dettelbach “immensely qualified” for the post, saying at a White House event Monday that his record “makes him ready on day one to lead this agency.”

Dettelbach served as U.S. attorney for seven years after being nominated in 2009 by former President Obama, who was his classmate at Harvard Law School. He currently is co-leader of white collar investigations at national law firm BakerHostetler.

“As we emerge from this pandemic, we’ve got to recognize that many Americans still face fear and isolation, not because of a virus but because of an epidemic of firearms violence. It’s not a new problem, and it has many causes”  Dettelbach said in remarks at the White House. “That’s why it’s going to take an all hands on deck partnership approach to address that issue and the ATF will be there.”