President Joe Biden is set to make another nomination for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and announce new executive actions restricting “ghost guns.”
The president is tapping former U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach to head the ATF. Biden’s previous nomination, David Chipman, was pulled back in September as Chipman found opposition from Senate Republicans and some Democrats.
Chipman’s history of gun control advocacy had him squaring off against gun rights groups.
Dettelbach was confirmed for his position as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in 2009. He also spent two decades as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a White House “fact sheet.”
Dettelbach also ran an unsuccessful campaign for Ohio Attorney General during which he advocated for an assault weapons ban, according to the Ohio public radio station WOSU.
The top spot at the ATF has been mostly vacant since it became a Senate-confirmed position in 2006. The only person to serve as permanent ATF director since that time was Byron Todd Jones who filled the role from 2013 to 2015.
Biden is also set to announce Monday a final rule on ghost guns—unregistered firearms often built using a 3D printer.
Biden’s rule will require kits that can be used to build a gun to be registered as such. It also includes an effort to serialize ghost guns already in circulation. Additionally, Biden’s order will update serialization and background check laws for guns with split receivers and require firearms dealers to retain records for as long as their business is open.
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