“We don’t have the votes. We will assign him to an unconfirmed job in the administration,” a senior administration official told CNN.
Chipman, a former ATF career official, was scrutinized by pro-gun advocates and the National Rifle Association for his work as a senior advisor to Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords, the organization started by former MP Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot at an event in her Arizona district in 2011.
The top Democrats had been moving quietly to block support for Biden’s candidate, but Chipman struggled to get support because some senators wondered if his previous history as a proponent of stricter gun laws would make him a a less effective director.
The White House declined to comment when it hit CNN.
Biden appointed Chipman to lead the ATF in April, seeking the first director of the agency confirmed by the Senate since 2015 and only the second in its history.
In an undisclosed 2019 speech at a law firm titled “Can the right to bear arms coexist with gun control?” Chipman said his views and policy were not typical of the majority in the country. ‘ATF and law enforcement because the groups were mostly.’ A very conservative group, mostly of white men. ‘
Chipman’s withdrawal comes as Democrats have struggled to overcome Republican Party resistance to measures aimed at curbing gun use and amid an increase in mass shootings in the United States. The House has passed two bills to expand the history of gun sales, including one to do so in private and commercial transactions, but does not have the support of moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senator Jon Tester of Montana.
While at the ATF, Chipman “disrupted arms trafficking operations in Virginia that supplied illegal weapons to New York City, was a member of the SWAT version of ATF and was appointed the special agent in charge of ATF’s gun programs, ”according to his biography on the Giffords website.
In recent years, the ATF has become more visible after mass shootings in the United States and other gun-related crimes.
According to its website, ATF “protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, illegal use and trafficking of firearms, illegal use and storage of explosives, fires and bombings, acts of terrorism and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. “
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.