ICYMI: Support Grows for Steve Dettelbach to Lead ATF With Endorsements this Week by Law Enforcement Groups, 'Famed Prosecutors', and Pediatric Surgeons

Steve Dettelbach continues to pick up support and momentum to be confirmed to lead ATF and redouble the Administration's efforts to fight gun crime and keep our communities safe. Dettelbach is a career federal prosecutor who was unanimously confirmed to serve as a U.S. Attorney and who worked hand-in-hand with ATF agents and law enforcement to try complex cases and take down street gangs, arsonists, and other threats to public safety.

Since being nominated for this position, Dettelbach has received widespread support across the political spectrum, including from a bipartisan group of leading prosecutors and law enforcement officials.

That support has continued to grow over the last week as Dettelbach has secured the backing of key law enforcement groups, renowned prosecutors, and the pediatric surgeons on the front lines of saving the lives of children impacted by gun violence.

April 22 – CNN: Major County Sheriffs of America endorses Biden's ATF nominee Steve Dettelbach

President Joe Biden's nominee to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received an endorsement from a big law enforcement group on Friday.

The president of the Major County Sheriffs of America, Sheriff Dennis Lemma, sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee leaders to express his association's support of Steve Dettelbach to lead the ATF. The MCSA represents 110 of the largest elected sheriffs' offices in the nation.

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Lemma said Dettelbach has a "proven track record of working with federal, state, and local law enforcement in fighting violent crime," and said he has "worked alongside the ATF through cases fighting domestic terrorism, anti-religion, hate crime and violent extremism."

April 26 – National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)

Mr. Dettelbach has displayed the qualities of leadership, empathy, excellence, and persistence in supporting and defending the U.S. Constitution while ensuring equal protection and justice for all Americans. This has been exhibited in roles such as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and Chair of the AGAC Civil Rights Subcommittee.

April 27 – NPR: A pediatric surgical group endorses Biden's nominee for gun enforcement agency chief

The nation's largest organization of pediatric surgeons has endorsed President Biden's pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, saying it is "counterproductive" to leave ATF without a permanent director when the number of gun-related injuries and deaths is climbing among American children.

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But the endorsement from APSA stands out because it comes from pediatric surgeons who have had to treat some of the youngest victims of gun violence in the United States.

April 28 – POLITICO: Biden's choice to lead gun agency picks up backing of famed prosecutors

President Joe Biden's second pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has secured the backing of a prominent group of legal figures.

Seven members of the prosecution team in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing case, including the lead attorney Joe Hartzler, sent a letter to the top senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday praising Biden's nominee: Steve Dettelbach.

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The former federal prosecutors praised Dettelbach's work prosecuting cases involving violent extremists, including one man who firebombed an Ohio courthouse, noting that he used evidence gathered by ATF agents.

"Mr. Dettelbach also worked with a team of ATF agents and other law enforcement officers to prosecute the man who torched a mosque in Toledo, Ohio," the team wrote in a letter first obtained by POLITICO. "So, Mr. Dettelbach has the direct professional experience that qualifies him to lead the ATF."