DOJ Launches Firearms Trafficking Strike Forces; Biden’s ATF Director Pick Lacks Support

According to a Department of Justice press release dated July 22, 2021, the DOJ has launched five cross-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces to address violent crime and crack down on sources of crime guns.

This move is meant to help reduce gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country and curb the supply of illegally trafficked firearms into five key market regions: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area/Sacramento Region, and Washington, D.C.

Each of the five regions will be led by designated U.S. Attorneys who will partner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and with state and local law enforcement to stop firearms from being illegally trafficked across the United States. They will also use data, evidence, and intelligence from crime scenes to catch the perpetrators of violent gun crimes.

The strike forces part of a larger effort to implement DOJ’s Comprehensive Violent Crime Reduction Strategy, which was announced on May 26, 2021. The plan is meant to help local communities combat violent crime and prevent, investigate, and prosecute gun violence.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland explained, “All too often, guns found at crime scenes come from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. We are redoubling our efforts as ATF works with law enforcement to track the movement of illegal firearms used in violent crimes.”

President Biden’s pick to lead ATF, however, has received pushback from both Senate Democrats and Republicans. David Chipman, the president’s choice, is considered by many lawmakers to be anti-gun and polarizing in his views. Chipman is currently a senior policy adviser to Giffords, a gun control group, and prior to that, he spent more than 20 years at the ATF.

In order to be confirmed, Mr. Chipman will need all 50 members in the Democratic caucus to support him. So far, moderate Democrats like Senators Joe Manchin (D-WVA) and Jon Tester (D-MO) have not said whether or not they would support his nomination and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called Chipman an “anti-gun extremist.”

The Senate has only confirmed one nominee, B. Todd Jones in 2013, to become ATF director.