SEN. CORKER PUTS HOLD ON AMBASSADOR NOMINATION OVER NNSA FUNDING CUTS

The battle over nuclear modernization funding could be close to claiming its first victim. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) yesterday moved to block the nomination of the Obama Administration’s pick to be the ambassador to Russia over concerns about potential cuts to funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program. With the Administration’s funding plan facing potential cuts in FY2012 appropriations, Corker held up a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Mike McFaul to be the Administration’s new ambassador to Russia yesterday. The move means that the committee can’t consider McFaul’s nomination until its next meeting—which is likely to occur after Thanksgiving—and even if McFaul is cleared by the panel, Corker can put a hold on the nomination when it reaches the Senate floor. “Senator Corker is working to ensure that the U.S. funds the necessary modernization of our nuclear weapons and complex as outlined by the NNSA to ensure the safety and reliability of our nuclear deterrent,” Corker spokeswoman Laura Herzog said yesterday in a statement provided to NW&M Monitor.