Durbin Questions ATF Director Nominee, Judicial Nominee During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

Durbin Questions ATF Director Nominee, Judicial Nominee During Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

Durbin pressed nominee to lead ATF about the President's cuts to ATF funding and diverting ATF agents to the President's lawless immigration agenda

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned nominees at a Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing. Durbin first questioned Robert Cekada, nominated to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), about President Trump's proposed cuts to ATF. The President's Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposed cutting ATF funding by over 25 percent and at least two-thirds of ATF agents - 1,778 of 2,572 - have reportedly been diverted from preventing gun violence to carry out the President's immigration agenda. Durbin met with Mr. Cekada earlier this week.

"Do you support diverting ATF agents to engage in immigration enforcement?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Cekada responded that he "supports ATF agents being used to enforce federal statutes." He also stated the ATF agents assisting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are focused on people who commit violent crimes. Data has shown that roughly 70 percent of immigrants detained by ICE have no criminal convictions.

Durbin then asked Anna St. John, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, about her opposition to ending forced arbitration. In November 2021, when Durbin chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, he helped advance the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act by voice vote. The bill had strong bipartisan support and was signed into law in 2022. St. John testified against this legislation in November 2021, claiming that ending forced arbitration was "not in the best interests of those subjected to sexual harassment and assault." She argued that the bill "turns these women into unwilling pawns, leveraging their private difficulties in pursuit of public policy objectives that don't actually benefit them." Former Fox News host, Gretchen Carlson, was one of the bill's leading advocates and expressed her concern over St. John's nomination.

"Do you still oppose ending forced arbitration for people who have been sexually assaulted or harassed in the workplace?" Durbin asked.

St. John responded that she stands by her testimony in November 2021.

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

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