‘This Was a Failure’: Biden’s A.T.F. Pick Says White House Left Him Open to Attack

David Chipman’s confirmation odyssey began with a abbreviated congratulatory buzz from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland successful April and ended, helium said, with a long, rueful telephone from the statesmanlike advisor Steve Ricchetti admitting the White House had fallen “short.”

Mr. Chipman, a brash weapon power activistic whose information to caput the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives imploded this month, said helium had nary different interaction with the White House, which often near him feeling alone, connected “an island,” erstwhile pro-gun groups attacked him.

Instead, the West Wing strategy focused connected selling Mr. Chipman to Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the centrist Democrat and perpetual kingmaker successful an evenly divided Senate, lone to suffer the enactment of Senator Angus King, an autarkic from Maine, which near Democrats astatine slightest 1 ballot abbreviated of the 50 needed for confirmation.

“Either this was intolerable to win, oregon the strategy failed,” Mr. Chipman told The New York Times successful his archetypal nationalist comments since President Biden withdrew the nomination, conceding helium could not get the votes. “This was a failure.”

Mr. Chipman’s decision represented a large triumph for the weapon lobby and a immense nonaccomplishment for weapon power groups, who saw assignment of a beardown manager for the bureau arsenic the astir important determination Mr. Biden could marque arsenic Republicans artifact legislative action. It was a reminder of Mr. Biden’s struggles, 8 months into his presidency, to fulfill large promises helium has made to progressives connected voting rights, migration and guns.

In a far-ranging interview, Mr. Chipman, who served arsenic an cause astatine the bureau for 25 years earlier becoming 1 of the country’s astir salient weapon power activists, praised the White House for what helium jokingly called the “gangster move” of nominating idiosyncratic similar him successful the archetypal place.

But helium questioned the administration’s willingness to execute a coordinated strategy to get him done the Senate and expressed interest astir its adjacent moves. He said helium recovered it “unusual” that helium spoke to nary 1 astatine the White House from the infinitesimal helium was nominated.

“In the backmost of my mind, I ever thought that determination would beryllium a Plan B, but truthful acold determination hasn’t been,” Mr. Chipman said.

White House officials pushed backmost connected the proposition that they are stalled, saying they are considering respective imaginable nominees and pointing to caller weapon control, assemblage engagement and anti-crime initiatives Mr. Biden outlined earlier this year.

“We cognize this enactment is going to beryllium hard — particularly with Republicans connected Capitol Hill moving successful lock-step with the weapon manufacture — but the president is perfectly committed to pushing some authorities and unit to combat weapon violence,” said Michael Gwin, a spokesperson for Mr. Biden.

Mr. Chipman, 55, said helium was speaking retired present successful hopes of encouraging Mr. Biden’s squad to absorption connected reforming and energizing the long-neglected agency, which has been handcuffed by decades of legislative attacks from the National Rifle Association and different pro-gun groups.

He prefers to bash truthful from the outside, rejecting a caller connection to service successful the Justice Department. He has returned to his presumption arsenic an advisor to the enactment founded by erstwhile Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a subsister of weapon unit helium described arsenic having much courageousness than anyone successful Washington.

Mr. Chipman placed astir of the blasted for his decision connected the weapon lobby, successful peculiar the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an manufacture commercialized radical that lobbied Mr. King and others.

And helium singled retired Lawrence G. Keane, a apical enforcement astatine the group, for posting a representation connected its website showing a national cause — falsely identified successful a tabloid nonfiction arsenic a young Mr. Chipman — lasting successful the smoldering debris of the Branch Davidian compound successful 1993, which helium said prompted a spate of online threats.

“Larry Keane enactment up a photograph of maine that helium knew was false, trying to get maine killed,” said Mr. Chipman, who arrived successful Waco, Texas, to assistance successful the probe agelong aft the A.T.F. had begun an battle that yet resulted successful the deaths of 82 civilians and 4 national agents.

Mr. Keane, successful a telephone interview, called the accusation “categorically false,” adding that “the infinitesimal we recovered retired that it was successful information not him, we pulled it from our website. If I had known it wasn’t him, we would ne'er person utilized the photograph.”

He acknowledged that Mr. Chipman was the taxable of decease threats, which helium called “extremely unfortunate and uncalled-for.” But helium said Mr. Biden ne'er should person nominated idiosyncratic arsenic belligerent to weapon owners, manufacturers and dealers arsenic Mr. Chipman.

There was, however, 1 constituent some men agreed on: The White House, on with Mr. Chipman’s tiny enactment squad astatine the Justice Department, did not bash astir capable to sound down that communicative oregon different accusations against him that circulated wide successful blimpish media.

Mr. Chipman lauded the dedication of the Justice Department team, but said his attempts to get them to nonstop reporters documents debunking the Waco assertion failed — and helium yet had to springiness journalists the accusation himself aft concluding “no one’s defending me.”

Administration officials, speaking connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publically astir the matter, said that they softly countered antagonistic stories astir Mr. Chipman, but believed the under-the-radar media strategy was the wisest course.

They said the occupation was not Waco, but Mr. King, an autarkic who caucuses with Democrats, who blindsided them by expressing absorption to Mr. Chipman conscionable arsenic the information was headed to a level ballot successful precocious June.

A idiosyncratic adjacent to Mr. King said his presumption should not person travel arsenic a astonishment to anyone. He had already told medication officials helium objected to their income transportation — that the A.T.F., an bureau helium viewed arsenic a neutral regulator, would beryllium the focal constituent of weapon argumentation nether an activistic manager similar Mr. Chipman.

Mr. Chipman got that connection successful idiosyncratic successful July erstwhile Mr. King summoned him to his office.

When helium arrived, Mr. King told the nominee that Mr. Chipman’s begetter — a King protagonist who lives successful Maine — had sent him a missive urging him to ballot for his son.

“At slightest he likes you,” Mr. King quipped.

Then the senator, who had been the taxable of an aggravated lobbying effort by pro-gun groups successful his location state, laid retired his grievances. According to Mr. Chipman, the legislator told him that “my friends who are weapon dealers successful Maine” objected to the nomination.

Mr. Chipman, who had vowed to intensify inspections of federally licensed weapon dealers if confirmed, did not springiness crushed — and polite calls from Mr. Biden, Ms. Giffords and Thomas Brandon, a erstwhile acting manager of the agency, implicit the adjacent fewer weeks did thing to budge the senator.

By aboriginal September, the White House bowed to the inevitable. Mr. Ricchetti called Mr. Chipman, and spent astir 20 minutes expressing regret astatine each helium had been through, arsenic the nominee stood adjacent a tract of sunflowers helium was visiting with his wife.

Last week, Mr. King explained his presumption successful a missive to constituents, saying Mr. Chipman could not beryllium “a just and nonsubjective regulator” due to the fact that his relation with weapon information groups meant helium could not beryllium “evenhanded” with weapon dealers.

Mr. Chipman drew different decision from the meeting: that Mr. King had been “captured” by the weapon lobby, and that his ain decision was a reflection of its enduring power.

“I near his bureau thinking, ‘Does helium truly judge that radical who modulate industries tin lone get those jobs if they’re friends with the industry?’” Mr. Chipman said. “He said the quiescent portion retired loud.”