As Senate Republicans plow ahead with confirming dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees en masse, some in the party have spotted opportunities to negotiate on energy and disaster issues.
This week, Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) placed holds on all Homeland Security nominees out of concern about slow disaster aid rollouts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
At the same time, fellow North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis told POLITICO’s E&E News that he lifted his hold on a trio of Treasury nominees, after the administration was “very responsive” to his concerns about renewable energy tax credits.
Tillis, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) have all been using Treasury holds as a means of negotiating with the administration on the phaseout of wind and solar tax benefits. It is unclear whether Curtis and Grassley have similarly lifted their holds.
