ATF Nominee Dettelbach to Face Senate Panel Wednesday

Democrats Try to Bury ATF Nominee Hearing

Senate Democrats officially announced yesterday evening that Biden's nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Steven Dettelbach, will be brought in front of the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Notably, the Democrat-controlled committee seems to be doing their best to try and bury this nomination and push Dettelbach — along with their radical gun control agenda — through the chamber and to a floor vote as soon as possible.

Dettelbach will be on the second of two panels of nominees during Wednesday's hearing. His nomination will be considered at the same time as those of four people up for federal judgeships.

During the hearing, expect some viral moments from the likes of Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn — all Republicans on Senate Judiciary.

I would also not be surprised to see Lindsey Graham vote to at least advance Dettelbach's nomination out of committee, if not vote in favor of it altogether on the Senate floor. Just last year, his streak of supporting Biden's judicial nominees was highlighted in The Hill. Graham did later oppose the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court this year.

Intelligence Agency Leaders to Testify on Appropriations Requests

This week will feature three days of committee work on Capitol Hill.

Appropriations committees in both chambers will hear from domestic intelligence agency leaders.

On Wednesday, the directors of both the Secret Service and the FBI will be on Capitol Hill to testify on their departments' appropriations requests.

FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Secret Service Director James Murray will testify before the House Appropriations Committee on his department's requests.

Congress is in the middle of the appropriations season right now for FY 2023. Leaders of many federal agencies and departments have visited Congress in recent weeks to secure funding and face questions from members of Congress on how they're spending taxpayer dollars.

Is the Baby Formula Crisis Over?

Last week the “Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022” was passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by the president. The Senate passed the bill unanimously, while nine Republicans voted against the bill in the House.

While media outlets were quick to attack the nine Republicans who voted against the bill, the group did have a point. Despite its name, the bill only focused on the ability of WIC program participants to buy formula.

Congresswoman Michelle Steel of California's 48th District, the bill's Republican co-sponsor, noted the following in a press release when the bill passed the House:

“The federal WIC program provides grants to states to support low-income postpartum and pregnant women, infants, and children up to age 5. Each state then chooses a specific manufacturer to provide formula to WIC recipients. More than half of U.S. states use Abbott Laboratories, whose shutdown in February by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contributed to the nationwide shortage.”

The Act doesn't seem to do much in terms of making the product more available to middle-class Americans. In fact, it could make formula even harder to access, as WIC participants are now not limited to how much formula they can buy. It remains to be seen if Congress will do anything to address the manufacturing side of the crisis.

For now, President Joe Biden is playing the hero, as he authorized the military to fly formula from Europe to the United States.

While the news is good, it shows again the Executive Branch of government solving an issue it created when the FDA shut down Abbott's production.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.