Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wyoming Senator Blocks Confirmation of New EPA Administrator

A GOP senator has placed a "hold" on President Obama's nomination of Lisa P. Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, preventing, at least temporarily, confirmation of one of the new president's key environmental policy advisors.

According to an MSNBC report, Sen. John Barrasso imposed the hold, which by tradition is honored by the Senate, as an objection to Obama's establishment of a new White House office on climate change policy and the choice of former EPA administrator Carol Browner to head it.

Jackson, 46, most recently served as chief of staff to New Jersey Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. Before that she was an assistant commissioner and the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for six years.

Jackson was previously an EPA employee for about sixteen years.