A little more than two weeks after Republicans swept into power in Washington, Matthew Marzano, a Democratic Senate staffer and licensed reactor operator, will get the first of two lame-duck votes he must pass in order to become a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marzano was scheduled for a vote during a business session of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday. Assuming he passes it, which he could if Democrats vote as a bloc, Marzano will still need a vote in the full Senate, which until Jan. 3 is controlled by Democrats and their independent caucus allies by the thinnest of margins.
Marzano attracted little controversy in a nomination hearing before the election, but his committee vote got pushed off until after election day.
If confirmed, Marzano would fill the final vacancy on the committee, cement a Democratic majority at the agency’s highest level and serve a five-year term that expires June 30, 2028.
Marzano is an Idaho National Laboratory detailee to the Democratic staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee. He helped the committee write the ADVANCE Act, a package of nuclear-policy reforms that became law this summer and had significant bipartisan support in Congress.
If Marzano makes it out of the committee, Republican senators could attempt to force a floor vote in order for Democrats to install him at the NRC.
If Republicans object to unanimous confirmation of Marzano, Democrats would be forced to either give up on the nominee, which would give President-elect Donald Trump (R) a chance to nominate someone else after Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, or devote floor time to Marzano that could be used instead, for example, to confirm judges to the federal bench before Trump returns.
If Marzano does not make it through the Senate, Trump’s nominee would give the NRC a Republican majority in 2025, assuming both current Republican members stay on.
