Wrap Up; McConnell to retire; WIPP undamaged by quake; LANL public comment extended; more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the upper chamber’s top defense appropriator, said Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2026.

McConnell will end his four-decade career after having served as the longest-tenured Senate leader in U.S. history, a role he stepped down from ahead of the current Congress and as he took over as chair of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor on Thursday. “Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our Commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime … “I will not seek this honor an eighth time,” McConnell went on to say “My current term in the Senate will be my last.”

A 4.6-magniture earthquake reported Tuesday morning along the New Mexico border with Texas, did not damage the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.

WIPP has seismic monitoring equipment in place, a spokesperson said. “ There was no damage to the surface or underground facilities as the result of either recent earthquake and normal operations continue at the facility,” the spokesperson said.

The National Nuclear Security Administration has extended the public comment period for Los Alamos National Laboratory’s draft sitewide environmental impact statement by 30 days, according to local news outlet Los Alamos Reporter.

The extension was granted at the request of stakeholders who had spoken and written letters during the comment period. The period now ends April 10.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has posted an updated organization chart reflecting that Roger Jarrell is back with the nuclear cleanup office as a senior adviser.

The organization chart is dated Feb. 12 and shows Jarrell, who served in a similar role during the early going in the first Donald Trump administration and more recently worked at United Cleanup Oak Ridge in Tennessee, as the second-highest position at the cleanup office.

Candice Robertson, continues in charge of day- to-day operations as principal deputy assistant secretary or EM-2. Jarrell rejoined Environmental Management a few weeks ago. At the same time, the cleanup office announced the organization’s second in command Jeff Avery moved over to the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

Los Alamos National Laboratory released a report on its website saying it spent over $1 billion on local businesses in New Mexico in 2024.

The money was spent through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program, where the lab connects businesses with lab technicians.