The Senate on Thursday approved John Bryson?s nomination to be Commerce secretary despite some Republican misgivings over his environmental community ties and past support of climate change legislation.
Bryson was confirmed nearly five months following his May 31 nomination after Senate leaders late Wednesday agreed to have this nomination considered on the same 60-vote threshold needed for defeating filibusters.
Continue ReadingThe vote was 74-26.
"As secretary of Commerce, John Bryson will be a key member of my economic team, working with the business community to promote job creation, foster growth, and help open up new markets around the world for American-made goods," President Barack Obama said in a statement Thursday evening. "At such a critical time for our economy, I nominated John because I believe his decades of experience both in the public and private sector have given him a clear understanding of what it takes to put America on a stronger economic footing and create jobs."
Bryson succeeds Gary Locke, who resigned to become the U.S. ambassador to China.
His supporters touted his diverse experience, which includes former chief of power conglomerate Edison International and president of the California Public Utilities Commission.
?I think he is an exceptional choice by the president ? and he is going to be one of our best,? said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
?Mr. Bryson?s business-minded leadership is needed now more than ever,? Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) added.
Bryson?s nomination was opposed by Republicans such as Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming due to his co-founding of the Natural Resources Defense Council and support for cap-and-trade legislation.
Inhofe called the NRDC "one of the most radical, left-wing, extreme environmentalist groups."
?This nominee is actually the wrong person at the worst time,? Barrasso said before the vote. Barrasso said President Barack Obama needed to nominate someone whose mission ?is to promote job creation, to promote economic growth, to promote sustainable development and improve standards of living for all Americans.
?Instead the president has nominated someone whose political advocacy is, in my opinion, detached from the financial hardships facing tens of millions of Americans today," Barrasso added.
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