Andrew Traver, head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives’ Chicago office, is in the running to direct the agency, reports the Washington Post. Traver could end up being the irst-ever Senate-confirmed ATF director. The position had been filled (at the Treasury Department and more recently at Justice) without Senate input. Since it became Senate-confirmable in 2006, no one has made it past the watchful eyes of the gun lobby.
Senate Republicans blocked President bush’s nominee, Boston U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, saying he was not sensitive to the needs of small gun dealers. He was acting director until 2009. The current deputy director, Kenneth Melson, was acting director for a while and now runs the agency as deputy director. Traver is “an experienced special agent with more than 20 years,” former ATF official James Cavanaugh, who recently retired after 33 1/2 years with the agency, told ticklethewire.com. “He's a good leader. He's quiet. He's strong. He certainly has the battle scars of law enforcement and law enforcement command.”