GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has frozen the confirmation process of President Donald Trump’s nominees for posts in the Department of Energy and Department of the Interior because of problems with Senate scheduling, according to the Washington Examiner.
No nominee can move through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Murkowski, until she schedules a committee meeting and vote.
The scheduling issue came just after Murkowski voted down on an attempt to partially repeal and replace Obamacare. The bill was pushed heavily by the Trump administration.
After the vote, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called Murkowski, telling her the president is “really disappointed” she voted down the Obamacare repeal, E&E news reports.
“It was not a very pleasant call,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski denied that the votes were a form of retaliation against the Trump administration, saying the nominees are “important people that need to get through,” according to CNN.
Murkowski’s office has not yet announced when committee votes on Trump’s nominees might be held.
“We are considering options for rescheduling the [votes on nominees], but have not yet settled on a date or time,” Murkowski spokeswoman Nicole Daigle told the Examiner. “Once the chairman has made a decision regarding [the votes], the committee will issue a public notice.”
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