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.
