What They Are Saying: President Biden's Latest Executive Nominees Will Help With America's Most Pressing Challenges

WASHINGTON – During Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, President Biden’s latest round of executive nominees demonstrated the competence, integrity, and commitment their roles require to help confront the challenges facing our nation, from gun violence and trafficking to repairing our immigration process.

The executive nominees who appeared this week include David Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Ur Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; Anne Milgram, to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement; and Kenneth Polite, Jr., to be an Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division.

Here’s what they’re saying:

DAVID CHIPMAN, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES

“Several national organizations representing law enforcement officers are applauding President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives… ‘David [Chipman] has enormous credibility as a 25-year veteran of ATF with on-the-ground experience,’ wrote Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, adding Chipman had demonstrated deep understanding of gun crime issues.” – CNN | LINK

“Our partnerships with ATF have proven invaluable in eliminating criminal organizations, fighting gun trafficking, and ensuring that the reasonable restrictions placed on gun possession are enforced without harming law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights… David Chipman is uniquely qualified to lead ATF. He has deep experience at that agency, and he is ready to work with law enforcement, the communities most heavily impacted by violence, and others to make our nation safer while upholding Americans’ Second Amendment rights.” – Seventeen State Attorneys General | LINK

“Chipman has deep, inside understanding of the ATF. He worked for the bureau for almost 25 years, beginning his career as a special agent in Norfolk, Va… Chipman responded to two of the highest-profile terrorist attacks of the 1990s: the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993 and the blast two years later in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people… Over the years, Chipman was promoted to more senior supervisory roles in ATF offices around the U.S.” – NPR | LINK

“[Chipman is] a trusted public figure who can explain how guns are trafficked into the hands of bad actors.” – Washington Post | LINK

UR JADDOU, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

“Fiscal solvency, reduced backlogs, and an upgrade to 21st century technology top the list of goals President Joe Biden‘s nominee to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ur Jaddou, has for the agency. In addition, Jaddou will work to ensure that USCIS staff ‘have the resources, support, and leadership they need to carry out their roles,’ she told the Senate Judiciary Committee.” – Bloomberg | LINK

“With her experience, Ms. Jaddou is well-acquainted with the significant financial and operational challenges facing the Agency and understands the critical importance of accountability to the American people and their representatives in Congress. We are confident that she will be a strong partner to our Union as we work together to support the brave men and women who are charged with carrying out the noble mission of ensuring America’s promise to millions of lawful immigrants and residents while safeguarding our national security.” – American Federation of Government Employees: National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council 119 (AFGE Council 119) | LINK

“Ms. Jaddou’s knowledge and experience would be indispensable in providing the critical leadership needed to stabilize the agency’s financial challenges, reduce its significant processing backlogs, and provide stakeholders with more consistency throughout the various adjudications processes it conducts every day.” – U.S. Chamber of Commerce | LINK

ANNE MILGRAM, NOMINEE TO BE ADMINISTRATOR OF DRUG ENFORCEMENT

“As New Jersey’s attorney general from 2007-2010, Milgram was New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer and led the 9,000-person Department of Law & Public Safety, overseeing the New Jersey State Police and the State Division of Criminal Justice… During her career, Milgram spearheaded investigations into human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, street gangs, violent and organized crime, public corruption, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and civil rights violations.” – Homeland Security Today | LINK

“Ms. Milgram has a sterling reputation as a smart, honest, insightful, and responsible leader with a long history and commitment to public service and promoting the safety of our communities. She is exactly the type of leader and law enforcement partner we need at the DEA… Her dedication to improving the criminal justice system, commitment to fighting the devastating opioid epidemic, and history of promoting effective collaboration between state, local, and federal law enforcement are precisely the kinds of qualities that will make her an effective law enforcement partner to State Attorneys General across the country, and, more importantly, a successful Administrator of the DEA.” – 23 Bipartisan State Attorneys General | LINK

“Her meticulous approach to leveraging data and technology in law enforcement and pinpointing the root causes of crime, including homelessness, substance use, and mental health issues, has reduced and prevented violence, as well as enhanced the safety and health of communities… As her extraordinary career demonstrates, Ms. Milgram possesses the experience, the grit, and insightfulness required for the Administrator of DEA.” – Lori Cohen, CEO, ECPAT-USA | LINK

KENNETH POLITE, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE CRIMINAL DIVISION

“Buoyed by support from GOP politicos like state Attorney General Jeff Landry and Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy… Polite referred, as he often has, to his humble beginnings in the Lower 9th Ward and the former Calliope public housing development… Polite served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 2007 to 2010, and as the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Louisiana from September 2013 to March 2017.” – NOLA News | LINK

“Mr. Polite has succeeded with his intelligence, hard work, and support from his family… With his background of hard work and dedication, two decades of litigation and management experience in criminal, civil, and compliance law, Mr. Polite is clearly qualified.” – Republican Senator Bill Cassidy | LINK

“I'm going to vote for him, and I want to thank him for his willingness to serve.” – Republican Senator John Kennedy | LINK

“We are confident that Mr. Polite has the skill, integrity, legal acumen, and management ability to lead the Criminal Division. He has managed cases as a prosecutor, a complex organization as a Chief Compliance Officer, and a federal prosecutor’s office as a U.S. Attorney. Through his career, he has demonstrated solid judgment and unbiased leadership. He is well-qualified to oversee the sensitive investigations and prosecutions handled by the Criminal Division and its specialized prosecution sections.” – Five Bipartisan Former Assistant Attorneys General for the Criminal Division | LINK

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