Anonymous Holds

Environmental Groups Send Letter to the Hill on Holdren & Lubchenco

Elana Schor | March 13, 2009, 1:57PM

We reported yesterday on the abrupt resolution of the Senate holds that had snagged John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco, President Obama's nominees to lead the White House science office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, respectively.

Now that the nominees have been affirmatively sent to the Senate floor, their path to confirmation looks clear -- although the names and party affiliations of the senators holding them up remains murky. We're going to keep sniffing around to try to unmask the anonymous objectors.

But in the meantime, after the jump you can check out a letter on the nominations that was sent to the Senate today by 20 leading environmental groups (h/t Politico).

Read more »

Environment

Holds Lifted, Holdren & Lubchenco Cleared ... A Second Time?

Elana Schor | March 12, 2009, 6:07PM

It seems that the mystery of the holds on two of President Obama's senior science advisers has been solved.

All attempts to delay John Holdren, nominated to lead the White House science and technology office, and Jane Lubchenco, nominated to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, were lifted this afternoon after a closed-door meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee, according to Greenwire.

Why the Commerce panel needed to vote on Holdren and Lubchenco again after affirming them once last month remains unknown, as do the identities of the holders whom we've been working to unmask.

Greenwire reports that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the senior GOPer on Commerce, pointed a finger at Democrats for slowing the nominees to win concessions on other issues. Hutchison told me earlier this week that she was unaware of any objections -- we'll let you know more as soon as we know.

Late Update: Here's why the committee had to meet again this afternoon ... CQ's original report that stated Holdren & Lubchenco were "approved" last month was incorrect. The nominees were actually "discharged," which in Senate parlance means that they were quickly cleared without the panel voting.

That seems to have made the duo a magnet for senatorial objections -- the source of which remains murky, even to folks in the Senate. Now that the committee has met again to give the official stamp of approval to Holdren & Lubchenco, however, they can be moved towards unanimous approval without further shenanigans.

Anonymous Holds

Science Adviser Holds Update: Not Inhofe, Not Barrasso

Elana Schor | March 10, 2009, 1:28PM

We're on the hunt for the mystery senator (or senators) holding up approval of John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco, President Obama's nominees to become chief White House science adviser and head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To bring folks up to speed, it appeared initially that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was the sole lawmaker standing in the nominees' way, thanks to an unrelated dispute with Democratic leaders over the Cuban trade embargo. But that obstacle is no longer operative, leaving the situation murky as Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) references multiple holds on the nominees.

Yesterday we ruled out two GOP suspects, Sens. David Vitter (LA) and Mel Martinez (FL). Today we can strike two more likely suspects from the list: Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and John Barrasso (R-WY) both strongly oppose Holdren's pro-regulation stance on climate change, but both told me they're not behind the holds.

Inhofe couldn't confirm that the holds weren't coming from his environment committee, but he said flat out: "It's not me, though."

Anonymous Holds

Science Adviser Holds Update: Not Martinez, Not Vitter

Elana Schor | March 9, 2009, 6:08PM

On a day when President Obama struck a blow for truth-based science by reversing his predecessor's restrictions on stem cell research, it's unfortunate to report that two of Obama's top science advisors remain in limbo as anonymous Senate holds slow their confirmation.

I reported on Friday that John Holdren, nominated to become chief White House science adviser, and Jane Lubchenco, nominated to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, were being slowed by multiple GOP objections. But TPMDC is on the case quizzing potential culprits, and we can rule out two likely suspects: Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Mel Martinez (R-FL), both members of the Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over the nominees.

A Martinez spokesman confirmed today that he has no hold on Holdren and Lubchenco, while Vitter told me that "I've expressed concerns about Dr. Holdren in particular, but I do not have a hold."

The search continues ...

Late Update: To answer those wondering about Sen. Robert Menendez's (D-NJ) reported hold on Holdren and Lubchenco, per the WaPo, his spokesman confirmed on Friday that Menendez is not standing in the nominees' way as of now. Other unnamed senators still are holding them, however, according to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).

Anonymous Holds

Obama Science Advisers Still Slowed as No Culprit Steps Forward

Elana Schor | March 6, 2009, 11:46AM

The slowdown in approval of President Obama's economic team, both at Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers, is getting a lot of attention today. But let's not forget that two senior White House science adviser-designates are still going nowhere: John Holdren, named to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Jane Lubchenco, named to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, remain in limbo.

The likely source of the culprit would seem to be the Senate Commerce Committee, although that panel approved the nominations last month. "I am unaware of any GOP Commerce Committee members who are raising questions," one Senate source said via email.

But other sources pointed me to Commerce -- so just in case, I reached out to all the Republicans on that committee. The next likely source of the slowdown would be GOPers on the Senate environment committee, particularly given Holdren's progressive views on climate change, but Sen. Jim Inhofe's (R-OK) office did not return a request for comment on the nominations.

Rest assured, however, that we'll stay on this story.

Late Update: A source close to the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that there is, right now, no hold from Menendez on the nominees. It remains unclear when the hold evaporated -- sometime between the WaPo's original report on Tuesday and today, it seems. But either way, the nominees would have been quickly cleared if Menendez were the only original objector. So the search goes on...

Senate

Obama Science Advisers Slowed by Multiple Holds

Elana Schor | March 4, 2009, 5:11PM

We told you yesterday about Sen. Robert Menendez's (D-NJ) frustration over provisions in the $410 billion 2009 spending bill that would loosen the trade embargo against Cuba. But while we're talking about Menendez's vote on that bill, we shouldn't forget that he is also holding up the confirmation of John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco, two nominees to become senior science advisers in the Obama administration.

And he's not alone. It seems that multiple anonymous senators are now holding up Holdren and Lubchenco's nominations, as Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told CQ:

Read more »