Thomas Gardiner
The last of three Trump administration nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is headed for a Senate floor vote following approval Wednesday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The panel backed Commissioner Jeff Baran’s reappointment on a voice vote alongside two nominees for assistant administrator spots at the Environmental Protection Agency and the nominee to lead the Federal Highway Administration. Separate roll-call votes were held for two more controversial EPA assistant administrator nominees, Michael Dourson and William Wehrum, who several Democrats excoriated but could not stop from proceeding toward confirmation.
None of the committee members discussed Baran at length during the business meeting. Panel Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wy.) encouraged his fellow senators to support all other nominees being considered Wednesday, but notably did not do the same when he raised Baran’s name – another example of his clear reservations on the matter.
During the Oct. 4 confirmation hearing for Baran and the other nominees, Barrasso pressed the commissioner regarding his perceived opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. He called Baran’s nomination a “big ask” at the time.
In response to written questions submitted by Barrasso and other committee members after the confirmation hearing, Baran said he had not yet formed an opinion on Yucca Mountain. The NRC would ultimately rule on whether to issue a license for the facility.
Baran has served on the committee since 2014, and was nominated for a second term by the Trump administration. He is now awaiting Senate confirmation for a full five-year term ending June 30, 2023.
EPW Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.) has openly advocated a Senate vote on Baran concurrent with fellow NRC nominees Annie Caputo and David Wright, who secured the panel’s approval earlier this year to fill vacant spots on the commission. Republican lawmakers appear to have accepted keeping Democrat Baran on the commission as the means for ensuring a smooth confirmation for Republicans Caputo and Wright.
If confirmed, Caputo, a senior policy adviser on nuclear issues to Barrasso, would serve a term to June 30, 2021; Wright, an energy consultant and former head of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, would serve a term to June 30, 2020.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would schedule the vote on the three nominees. His staff on Wednesday did not provide a projected timeline for the vote.
The other two sitting members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are Chairman Kristine Svinicki, serving a third term to June 30, 2022, and Stephen Burns, whose first term ends June 30, 2019.
