Lifetime NAFUSA member Steve Dettelbach was sworn in as the new Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on July 13, 2022, by President Joe Biden. Dettelbach was nominated by President Biden on April 22, 2022 and was ultimately confirmed by the Senate on July 12. He is the second-ever Senate-confirmed ATF Director, the first being Todd Jones, who left ATF in 2015. Jones had previously served as United States Attorney for Minnesota under both Presidents Clinton and Obama.

Dettelbach served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
under the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2016. He left that position in 2016 to
return to BakerHofstetler where he served as co-leader of that firm’s White Collar,
Investigations and Securities Enforcement and Litigation Team.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Dettelbach vowed he would not be
influenced by political considerations and promised to uphold the law free from
political interference. In a statement following the confirmation, Attorney General
Merrick B. Garland praised Dettelbach, saying “Steve understands the importance and
urgency of ATF’s mission, and I am confident he will lead ATF with integrity,
dedication, and skill.”

At Dettelbach’s investiture on July 19, the Attorney General referenced the
celebration of ATF’s 50th anniversary founding as an independent agency in June. He
remarked that the ATF’s mission has never been more urgent than it is today. He
praised Dettelbach and thanked him for coming back to the Justice Department and
said that as a career prosecutor and former United States Attorney, “…Steve
understands the importance of ATF’s mission to protect our communities from
violent crime and the scourge of gun violence.