President Joe Biden seems to have further lost his grip the past week or so, doing everything from commuting the sentences of child murderers to awarding the nation’s highest civilian medal to freedom-hater George Soros. As a result, many believe it’s likely that the president’s weaponized Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) might take the chance to impose more “final rules” on America’s lawful gun owners.
That’s what prompted several Republicans in the U.S. Senate to send a letter to soon-to-be-outgoing ATF Director Steve Dettelbach demanding that he suspend and refrain from issuing any further rulemaking and support the incoming Trump Administration.
“We write to strongly encourage the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to firmly commit to and focus on preparing for the transition to the incoming Administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump,” the senators wrote. “The incoming Administration, including our next Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and ATF Director, must have the opportunity and ability to set ATF’s priorities and future direction. ATF’s ability to achieve its statutory mission of combatting violent crime depends on a smooth and effective transition.”
According to the senators, any future collaboration with the Trump Administration must involve halting any additional planned rulemaking by Biden’s ATF, which has repeatedly overstepped its enforcement role by creating laws over the past four years.
“Toward that end, we recommend and urge that ATF suspend and refrain from issuing any further rulemaking, ATF Rulings, open letters to the industry or other publications or reports (including academic research reports) except reports generated in direct support of specific criminal investigations, from making formal recommendations to Congress, launching any new regulatory initiatives or changing any policies, or reorganizing the organizational structure of ATF,” the letter continued. “Any new policy initiatives undertaken at this late stage will only create instability and detract from the transition and ATF’s focus on its primary mission.”
In the letter, the senators also pointed out that the directive didn’t include normal ATF functions that the agency is responsible for handling as part of its regular duties.
“This recommendation should not be interpreted to suggest ATF not continue to provide ordinary regulatory support to the industry, such as issuing federal firearm or explosives licenses, import permits or National Firearms Act forms,” the letter stated. “During this transition period it remains imperative ATF remains focused on its primary mission of combatting violent crime, which we know it will.”
As we reported last week, Dettelbach recently announced he would resign from his position effective January 18—just two days before President Trump is set to be inaugurated. Prior to that announcement, President Trump had already committed to replacing Dettelbach on his first day in office, and gun rights organizations are urging the new president to appoint a pro-gun director for the agency.
Republican senators signing the legislation included John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, James E. Risch of Idaho, Katie Boyd Brit of Alabama and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.
Cornyn IMO is no friend protecting the 2A. One example; the ‘Safer Communities Act’ coauthored with Sen. Phil Murphy in 2022. If only we were able to repeal the 17th amendment.
Cornyn seems to like being shafted by the Democrats, both figuratively and literally.
“…continue to provide ordinary regulatory support…”
more like extraordinary.
Well, Dettelbach ignored the Constitution and usurped congress and thus the ATF created their own ‘defacto laws’ and killed and terrorized innocent people to use their self-granted power and authority to enforce their own interpretations they made up so they could bully and threaten and intimidate so they could claim ‘we a fightin crime’ that didn’t exist. So now Dettelbach is leaving in 8 days… he already got away with it and the tyrants Biden and Harris and democrat congress scum cheered him the whole way and facilitated it and Dettelbach has nothing to lose here.
So why do these several Republicans in the U.S. Senate think a ‘pretty please don’t do anything else’ letter now is going to make Dettelbach go “Ok, i’ll stop, sorry bout that” when he has nothing to lose and the Biden admin has all the agencies trying doing things to make Trumps job as difficult as possible and sabotage as much as possible?
They should be transporting Dettelbach, and his ATF minions who participated in this blatant illegal and unconstitutional criminal reign of terror, to a prison cell.
None of them will go to prison. No matter how much they deserve it. Just like Fauci, Hillary, etc, the crimes of the Democrats are never punished. Given what they did to Trump, you would think that he would fire all the US Attorneys and hire new ones like Clinton did. He won’t.
Sharp worded letters are no substitute for actual legislation. These lawmakers need to exercise their power of purse and defund these agencies, not just send them letters begging them not to do some unconstitutional rule making that will require years and $$$ to challenge and overturn.
Kick these losers out
The USA giving that award to somebody who was happy to help Nazis round up his own neighbors kinda puts a gold star, pun intended, on the whole “fascist USA!!!” thing. Just not the way the people who chant said slogan expected.
Tobacco is going away. The alcohol business is headed to oblivion. Nobody wants cancer. There isn’t going to be a whole lot for them to do. Other than infringe.. It’s time for them to go.
Exactly.
Hadn’t ever thought about this but your probably right.
Lol wait alcohol is causing cancer now? K anything to not blame coerced gene therapy pretending to be vaccination I guess. Oh and those under 30 drink less than previous generations at all age groups and developing cancer at the highest increased rate so………..
It’s my understanding that they replaced alcohol with pot and other drugs.
Largely yes with some variation by region. My counterpart in the DOH would know the specifics a lot better but he has been really quiet once the Phizer immunity got extended to 2029 for anything involving cancer, stroke, and cardiac issues on the rise with kids
Republicans love strongly worded letters. Such letters are useless, which is why Republicans love them.
…. horse out…. something, something…. barn door….. something, something …. old man yelling at sky….
Yeah, screw locking the barn door – burn the damn barn down, and shoot the horse if he ever reappears anywhere on the farm.
Talk about a swamp that needs draining, that fatass Cornyn can’t be gone soon enough. !
Best post on here for a long, long time!
Permanently end this agency. Then put the new FBI headquarters in middle America, far removed from DC. Only use existing approved funding for it. They shouldn’t even need all of that. They have already approved hundreds of millions. They asked for nearly $4 billion!! Those people are insane.
Throw them in an abandoned shopping center, and refund tax payers, along with an apology.
Put all the current staff in prison and cut the budget to $1.
Should have told them to update their resumes.
Those shredders have to be getting awfully hot by now…..
It’s scorched earth, plain and simple.
the Jan6 insurrection ain’t got nothing on Bidens bye bye’s.
And Queen Kamala said it was going to be a peaceful transition.
THIS is why we need Trump to appoint a strong 2nd Amendment Director the oversee its dissolution.
I think ” we need” is the problem.
To much faith in someone else doing the lifting.
Votes don’t work, Debbie’s letters to congress persons don’t work, Supreme Court decisions don’t work.
The Power doesn’t need to listen when it doesn’t have too.
“….which has repeatedly overstepped its enforcement role by creating laws over the past four years” – actually longer than that, but TTAG writers seem to want their audience to forget that the bump stock ban and 1st version of the pistol brace ban both came out during Trump’s 1st administration.
This moderation system sucks.
It’s a pisser to spend time commenting using no apparent trigger words only to hit reply and never see it appear.
ATF Says ALL Braced Pistols Are SBRs, In Violation Of The Law.
In a Dec. 20th letter to a GOA member, the ATF’s Firearms Industry Programs Branch (FIPB) took the position that any pistol with a stabilizing brace attached is considered to be an NFA item under federal law.
This is concerning, as ATF is explicitly prohibited from enforcing its “Final Rule” on stabilizing braces by three different federal courts.
Not only that, but this letter to our member would be the first time on record that ATF has taken a position contrary to the rulings in those courts. Today on the Minuteman Moment, Ben goes over the letter that ATF sent …and GOA’s response.
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nWzwPQfweg
The law against machine guns might have relevance however I see no difference in what a sbr, stocked pistol or sbs has.
Seems to me adding a stock to a handgun makes it more accurate.
Isn’t that a good thing?
BREAKING NEWS: ATF Reinstituting The Pistol Brace Ban?!
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9ZWE_kDg4
Especially for employees in sensitive positions, or of authority, once separation notice is given: Take their keys. Escort them out of the building. Messenger their left behind office belongings to them. Nothing in policy changes will be recognized until the new boss arrives.