Senate confirmation rules left the gun enforcement bureau with acting directors.
Evidence
However, under the pressure of the gun lobbyists, Congress has succeeded in keeping the bureau leaderless, understaffed, and underfunded. These obstructions have prevented the bureau from doing its job of safeguarding the public from gun violence. In the past, the president had the authority to appoint a director without the approval of Congress. However, doing the gun lobby’s bidding, lawmakers changed the law, requiring Senate confirmation of a nominee (Schmidt, 2013). Because of the Senate’s delay in voting on nominees, this bureau has had six acting directors in the past eight years. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1130
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- QUESTION: Worth verifying current status — has the ATF director position been stably filled since this was written, and did the confirmation dynamics change?