Donald Trump Jr. is currently working behind the scenes to convince Democrats from Republican-dominated states to oppose President Joe Biden's choice to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, David Chipman.
Punchbowl News reports Trump Jr. will make appearances on local and national television programs to put pressure on Democrats in red states to come out against the nomination of Chipman, an advocate for gun control who works for the group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz.
"Biden nominating a radical anti-gun activist to lead a law enforcement and public safety agency is just more evidence of the myth that this is a moderate administration," a source close to Trump Jr. told Punchbowl News. "We won't let Democrat senators in states like West Virginia, Montana, and Arizona get away with being pro-2A at home while being Schumer's gun-grabbing puppets in D.C."
The report noted some of the moderates being put under pressure include: Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; along with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.
"As a proud gun owner, Sen. Tester believes ATF needs a strong leader to support the agency's law enforcement mission," a spokesperson for Tester recently told the Washington Examiner. "Sen. Tester will continue to review David Chipman's record and testimony to ensure he would support our brave law enforcement officers and respect Montanans' Second Amendment rights."
Former ATF Director Michael Sullivan told Fox News earlier this week: "I am concerned that somebody who has taken such a strong and hostile position against the Second Amendment, as well as gun owners and some of the most popular firearms in the United States, would be viewed as a political leader for an agency that, I think, has worked extremely hard to build the American public confidence in its handling of interpreting both the Gun Control Act and the various regulations around it."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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