The Senate on Friday voted 55-41 to advance the nomination of Brian Nesvik to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service, putting the Wyoming native closer to a long-vacant hot seat where he’ll face tricky decisions concerning grizzly bears, gray wolves and the Endangered Species Act.
Senators will work into the weekend as leaders negotiate a pre-recess deal on nominations. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Thursday also lined up Catherine Hanson to be chief financial officer at EPA and Adam Telle to lead the Army Corps of Engineers.
President Donald Trump nominated Nesvik, a retired National Guard brigadier general and one-time head of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, on Feb. 11.
He has not been a particularly controversial nominee, and Senate Democrats who voted against him in committee stressed at the time that they were aiming not at him but at the broader Trump administration environmental agenda.
