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| B. Todd Jones |
The final vote was 53-42, with Sen. Mark Kirk
(R-IL) the lone Republican voting
to confirm. Senators Blunt (R-O), Harkin (D-IA), Inhofe (R-OK ), Landrieu
(D-LA )
and McCain (R-AZ) did not vote.
“The votes to confirm were good news for
the agency, which will now have
the permanent leadership it desperately needs. It’s also good news for
the American people , who depend on
the ATF
to work with state and local law
enforcement officials to enforce our
nation’s gun laws and prevent violent crime,” the statement read.
The ATF
had been without a permanent director for seven years largely
due to opposition by the National
Rifle Association (NRA ).
The NRA
took a neutral position on this week’s vote.
Jones was nominated by President Obama in January in the wake of
the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Conn.
In December 2012.
Prior to his confirmation ,
Jones served as the acting ATF
director since being
appointed to the post on Aug. 31, 2011 by Attorney General
Eric Holder.
While serving as the acting director
of ATF ,
Jones was also the United States Attorney for the
District of Minnesota , a
post he held since Aug. 2009.
Jones served as both ATF
Acting Director
and U.S. Attorney until
his confirmation as ATF
Director.
CSGV credited grassroots activism for better gun laws for paved the way
for Jones to be confirmed.
“The fact that the NRA
remained neutral on the Jones nomination speaks volumes. There is a new
political dynamic on guns on Capitol Hill.
Faced with a highly energized and well organized
opposition—and a better informed American public,”
CSGV said. “It was no longer tenable for the NRA
to vilify the agency responsible for “enforcing the laws on the books.” Make no
mistake about it, if the NRA
had the power to stop Jones’ confirmation ,
they would have.”
Twitter @cleverpeasant
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