Durbin and Kirk Express Support for Chicago Area Resident to be ATF Director
President’s nominee awaits Senate confirmation
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In a letter to President Barack Obama, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today expressed their support for Andrew Traver to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). President Obama first nominated Traver to be ATF Director in November 2010 and re-nominated him to the post earlier this year.
“ATF has been without a
Senate-confirmed Director since 2006, and this lack of leadership has
hampered our nation’s efforts to combat street gangs and drug cartels
and to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. It is long past time
for the ATF Director position to be filled, and we believe the record
will show that Mr. Traver is the right man for the job,” the Senators
wrote.
Traver, a Navy veteran and a cancer
survivor, is a 23-year veteran of ATF who served for the last four
years as Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Chicago Field Division.
Under his leadership, the ATF Chicago Field Division has spearheaded
major investigations and enforcement actions against numerous
Chicago-area street gangs, including the Latin Kings, the Gangster
Disciples, and the Aurora Insane Deuces. Traver’s efforts to combat
gangs and violent crime in Illinois have drawn bipartisan praise.
Though Traver’s nomination was originally opposed by the National Rifle Association, the Senators urged a second look: “We
believe the NRA should take the opportunity to hear Mr. Traver present
his case for confirmation and to permit a review of his qualifications
by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The NRA commendably waited until
after hearings had taken place before taking a position on the
nominations of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. As
a veteran and decorated federal law enforcement officer, Mr. Traver
deserves similar respect for the service he provided the nation in and
out of uniform.”