B. Todd Jones to be nominated for ATF director

President Barack Obama plans to nominate B. Todd Jones to be the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives the president said Wednesday.

During a press conference outlining bold proposals for changes to laws on gun control, Obama said: "Since Congress hasn’t confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be — who has been acting and I will be nominating for the post."

Jones is the US Attorney for Minnesota and has served as the ATF’s acting director for the past 17 months, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. He’s a former military judge advocate.

The ATF has not had a permanent director for six years, Talking Points Memo reported.

The previous acting ATF director, Kenneth Melson, was reassigned amid investigations into Operation Fast and Furious, an ATF initiative that may have inadvertently lost guns to weapons traffickers.

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US Attorney General Eric Holder called Jones “a demonstrated leader” when Jones was appointed interim ATF director in Aug. 2011, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported.

"I have great confidence that he will be a strong and steady influence guiding ATF in fulfilling its mission of combating violent crime by enforcing federal criminal laws and regulations in the firearms and explosives industries," Holder said at the time, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

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