Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) Las Vegas office was burglarized Sunday morning, the Las Vegas Sun newspaper reported.
An aide to Heller confirmed the apparent break-in but declined to comment further about the ongoing investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Sun, citing a source, said the burglar or burglars might have left a threatening note at Heller’s office, located at 8930 W. Sunset Road. The website for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows a burglary in the 8900 block of West Sunset Road at 9 a.m. Sunday, July 16.
Heller, up for re-election in the 2018 midterms and seen as a relatively vulnerable incumbent, staunchly opposes construction of a permanent nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev. He has also garnered attention lately as a possible “no” vote on the Republican healthcare bill crafted by a group of senators led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has also reported that Heller has considered blocking the confirmation of the Trump administration’s nominee for deputy energy secretary, Dan Brouillette. Brouillette, an insurance industry lobbyist and former DOE legislative-affairs staffer, sailed through confirmation hearings after his May 16 nomination, but has yet to get a vote on the Senate floor.
Separately, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) on Monday cited the U.S. Geological Survey finding of a 4.1-magnitude earthquake near Pahrump, Nev., as illustrating the case against the Yucca Mountain repository. The center of the earthquake was roughly 33 miles southeast of the site, the Review-Journal reported.
“One of the many reasons why Yucca Mountain is an unsuitable site for a nuclear waste dump,” Titus tweeted.
