Friday, September 27, 2019

Senate Republicans Shut Down ATF Nominee

Chuck Canterbury, President Trump's nominee to serve as head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, is likely to see his nomination withdrawn due to stringent opposition from Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Washington Free Beacon learned on Thursday.

"Chuck Canterbury does NOT have sufficient support in the Judiciary Committee and is now expected to be held up instead of getting a vote today," a GOP Senate aide told the Free Beacon on Thursday morning.

"Republican members are Concerned about his stances on gun control, and there is still some bad blood for him flipping the Fraternal Order of Police in support of the First Step Act, allegedly in exchange for the ATF Director nomination."

Canterbury's nomination seemed in trouble during his July confirmation hearing when he frustrated Republican senators by refusing to deviate from the official positions of the FOP on gun control.

"We believe the most logical starting point to address gun violence is the expansion of the background check system," Canterbury wrote on behalf of the FOP. "Incomplete or absent background checks create a gaping hole in the wall between firearms and criminals."

In 2009, Canterbury testified on behalf of then-nominee Holder, calling "His positions, his policy work, and the official acts consistent with the goals of the FOP." Holder would go on to oversee operation Fast and Furious, a gun-running investigation where officials allowed guns to be sold to people connected with Mexican cartels in an effort to track their networks.

GOP Senate aides indicated that Canterbury was integral in bringing about this shift and that his work on FIRST STEP helped him clinch the ATF nomination, a view further indicated by Politico reporting in May. The Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://freebeacon.com/politics/senate-republicans-shut-down-atf-nominee/

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