Biden’s nominee to fill out NRC squeaks to Senate floor on party line vote

Republicans on Wednesday turned against President Joe Biden’s (D) nominee to fill the last vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the lame-duck Democratic majority got the President’s man to the floor.

On a vote of 10-9, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans against, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved Matthew Marzano’s nomination to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Marzano must now be confirmed by the full Senate, where until Jan. 3 Democrats and their independent allies will hold the slimmest majority. If confirmed by the full Senate, Marzano would, pending resignations, cement a 3-5 Democrat majority on the commission until June 2027, most of the way through President-elect Donald Trump’s (R) second term.

Ahead of Wednesday’s committee vote, Sen. Shelley Capito (R-W.Va.), the panel’s ranking Republican, said Marzano, a member of the committee’s Democratic staff and a licensed senior reactor operator, lacked the experience necessary to be an NRC commissioner.

“I believe that the White House has sort of exaggerated Mr. Marzano’s experience in the nuclear energy industry, although I do recognize his training and time working at a power plant,” Capito said. “As I stated at his confirmation hearing, demonstrating a capacity to follow procedures is fundamentally different than a commissioner’s role in setting policy, promulgating regulations and adjudicating significant legal issues.”

In his confirmation hearing in September, Marzano disputed as inaccurate characterizations of his career in an article by the Washington-based Breakthrough Institute, which said he had “little experience” in either technical or policy fields, making him “the worst of both worlds.”

Also in his confirmation hearing, Marzano stood behind a controversial commission decision to require new environmental reviews for nuclear power plants that want to renew their NRC licenses.

The full Senate had not scheduled a confirmation vote for Marzano as of Wednesday.