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Obama's ATF nomination sent to full Senate

 
FILE - In this June 11, 2013, file photo, B. Todd Jones of Minnesota, President Barack Obama's nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, listens to opening statements on Capitol Hill in Washington, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Obama picked Jones to lead the ATF in following the mass shooting in December at a Connecticut elementary school where 26 people, including 20 children, were killed. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the choice Thursday, July 11, 2013, in a 10-8 vote that fell strictly along party lines.
FILE - In this June 11, 2013, file photo, B. Todd Jones of Minnesota, President Barack Obama's nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, listens to opening statements on Capitol Hill in Washington, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Obama picked Jones to lead the ATF in following the mass shooting in December at a Connecticut elementary school where 26 people, including 20 children, were killed. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the choice Thursday, July 11, 2013, in a 10-8 vote that fell strictly along party lines.
Jacquelyn Martin, File / AP Photo

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's nomination of B. Todd Jones to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been sent to the full Senate.

Obama picked Jones to lead the ATF following the mass shooting in December at a Connecticut elementary school where 20 children and six adults were killed. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the choice Thursday in a 10-8 vote along party lines.

The full Senate has never confirmed an ATF chief since it was given the power to do so in 2006. Jones has been the agency's acting director since 2011 and is also the U.S. attorney in Minnesota.

White House press secretary Jay Carney urged the Senate to "swiftly" confirm Jones and give the ATF "all the tools it needs to help keep Americans safe."

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