Embattled U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is in a heated primary race to keep his Senate seat, has sent some pointed follow-up questions to Robert Cekada, deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Tobacco (ATF), following Cekada’s recent confirmation hearing.
In the letter, Sen. Cornyn covered everything from the plan to add 800 new ATF agents to the ATF’s secret “backdoor” registry of 1 billion guns compiled from transaction records of firearms licensees who have gone out of business. Cekada addressed many of the same questions at the hearing, but Cornyn was seeking additional information on the topics.
“At your confirmation hearing, you stated that the ATF is in the process of hiring...