This week U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blocked President Joe Biden's pick to oversee the implementation of the Biden administration's new energy efficiency regulations.
Manchin leads the U.S. Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee. And, the way he blocked the nominee, according to Fox News, is by recently removing the committee's consideration of the nominee from the committee's agenda.
The nominee, who, apparently, will not be moving forward in the confirmation process, is Jeff Marootian.
Marootian has held several positions in the Biden administration, including special assistant to Biden and senior adviser - for energy efficiency and renewable energy - to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Before these two roles, Marootian was the director of the Washington, D.C., Department of Transportation (DOT).
Now, Biden has picked Marootian to lead the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
How does one go from the DOT to the DOE? It's not clear. Granholm has claimed that Marootian would be a "natural fit to lead the Department’s largest applied energy office," but some members of the U.S. Senate have disagreed, arguing that Marootian is better qualified for a DOT role.
The EERE is the office that will be overseeing the implementation of the administration's new rules for various appliances, such as gas stoves. The new rules are designed to further the political left's climate change agenda.
Manchin has released a statement on why he has upended Marootian's nomination, and it appears to be because Manchin is not on board with Biden's climate change agenda - at least not this part of it.
"While I supported Mr. Marootian’s nomination in December, since then the office he’s been nominated to lead has proposed stove efficiency rules that I’ve raised concerns about," Manchin said.
The senator continued:
While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide effort to eliminate fossil fuels. For that reason, I’m not comfortable moving forward with Mr. Marootian at this time.
The White House has responded to Manchin's statement, saying, "The president stands by his well-qualified nominees to do the important work of DOE."
It is not immediately clear how the situation will progress from here. The White House has yet to indicate whether it is going to withdraw Marootian's nomination.
But, Manchin's objection appears to be to the position itself rather than Marootian. So, it is unclear how Biden is going to get any nominee through, provided Manchin holds his ground.