Biden's former ATF pick David Chipman: "The gun industry profits by gun violence itself"

President Biden's former nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is harshly criticizing lawmakers for opposing his nomination last month, arguing that depriving the bureau of a Senate-confirmed leader will only worsen gun violence in America. In an exclusive interview with the "CBS Evening News," David Chipman also criticized the gun industry, saying it "profits by gun violence itself."  

"I have, from 25 years as an ATF agent, and largely for ten years after that, committed myself to one thing: preventing gun violence in this country," Chipman told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. "To oppose me must mean that you're not for preventing gun violence."

Mr. Biden withdrew Chipman's nomination in early September after choosing him in April to lead the agency, in a blow to his promise of new gun safety measures. In announcing the withdrawal, Mr. Biden blamed congressional Republicans for using gun crime "as a political talking point instead of taking serious steps to address it," and praised Chipman as someone who would have been "an exemplary director of the ATF."