Biden Taps Gary Restaino As ATF Interim Director

ATF Police Raid IMG 2nd instagram.com/atfhq/
ATF Police Raid IMG 2nd instagram.com/atfhq/

WASHINGTON, D.C.-(Ammoland.com)- President Joe Biden will replace Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Marvin Richardson with United States Attorney Gary M. Restaino who will act as the interim Director.

Richardson has been a career ATF employee and took the job as the acting head of the ATF after the retirement of the former acting head Regina Lombardo. The Biden administration was frustrated with Mr. Richardson for not being aggressive enough against the firearms industry and gun rights. Richardson was seen as more anti-gun than Lombardo but didn’t go far enough on privately made firearms (PMF) for the liking of the Biden administration.

Last week, the rule against unfinished frames and receivers was unveiled in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. The rule seemed to be cobbled together and incomplete. That was most likely because the White House pushed the ATF to release the rule before the Bureau was ready. Richardson also took flak from anti-gun groups for appearing with National Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF) President Larry Keene at this year’s SHOT Show in Las Vegas. His accusers portrayed him as working too closely with the firearms industry. Mr. Richarson will remain at the ATF as the deputy director and will advise Mr. Restaino as he takes over as the top brass at the Bureau.

According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, President Biden used the Vacancies Reform Act to appoint Restaino as the interim Director of the ATF. President Biden had nominated anti-gun advocate and Giffords employee David Chipman to head the ATF last year. Chipman struggled during the nomination process due to his anti-gun advocacy and inability to define certain firearms he wanted to ban. Biden eventually pulled Mr. Chipman’s nomination when even some moderate Democrats said they wouldn’t vote to confirm the former special agent as the ATF Director.

On Monday, Biden announced the nomination of Steve Dettlebach during the unveiling of the pistol frames and receiver rule. Dettlebach was a U.S attorney for the Northern District of Ohio under former President Barak Obama for six years before leaving to go into private practice. Like Chipman, Dettlebach has embraced the gun control crowd and some of their more radical ideas.

To gun rights advocates, Biden is appointing another anti-gun advocate that will act on ideology rather than logic and reason. Dettlebach supports universal background checks and gun registrations. He also has backed gun bans and magazine size limitations. Some in the firearms industry think that Dettlebach does not understand how the business works and are worried he will implement Biden’s anti-gun ideas.

Dettlebach will face an uphill battle to get through the nomination process. No ATF Director has been confirmed since 2006. With Biden appointing anti-gun advocates to the position, it will be hard for any Senator that believes in the Second Amendment to vote for any of the President’s nominees, which makes the interim appointment of Restaino even more critical.

Restaino will most likely oversee the final version of the pistol stabilizing device rule, which is expected to be unveiled this summer. Gun rights advocates believe that the proposed rule will be more extreme under the new interim Director than it would be under Richardson.

Mr. Restaino has served as the U.S attorney for the District of Arizona since November of last year.


About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

John Crump
8 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jaque

Another Communist who will violate his oath of office every second he he holds the job.

Russn8r

Thanks to “Republican” collaborators who backed The Big Steal in 2020 and put the DemComs in power.

john

Listen to this article Young black man beats and kicks a old white man 77 years old how is this not a racist event Mr Mayor Adams. The ATF can not be trusted under the umbrella of the Biden administration nothing can be trusted when it comes to the democratic party. The most violent race to ever walk the planet strikes again. Violence comes natural to them. No amount of nurturing can change that DNA.I guess changing the cover of the pancake mix and the rice didn’t work. When will people learn that you don’t mess with aggressive wildlife unless… Read more »

Tionico

It is NOT in their DNA. Nope. It is 100% cultural and spiritual. But it IS a near certain thing in the vast majority of them.
Today;s DummieCrat handling f the situation only serves to enable and exacerbate it. They were not this way much back in the fifties and sixties. What changed? Dem welfare state policies, that’s what.
Some 95% of the black criminals grew up in a home, or what replaced a “home”, with NO father figure present. There is a reason God invented FATHERS. This is a good part of it.

john

When I moved into the deep South 17 years ago it was different than folks were polite. Obama changed all that as he was viewed as the new king to the black race. Here’s the rub he was not all black Mom was white and that is never talked about in the media the black race will never admit to that. I do not like titles like italian american or irish american or african american. Born here you are a American become a legal citizen welcome you are now a American. The rest is bull crap never check you DNA… Read more »

Happy Everafter

Remind this conservative OF just when the 2nd Amendment became the plaything of appointed ‘interim’ bureaucrats, or when those ‘interim appointees’ replaced members of the legislative branch?

Russn8r

Gary “Prior” Restraino. LOL.

Russn8r

Downvoters love ATF