The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (or HELP) Committee voted to approve seven of President Trump’s nominees to lead federal agencies. This includes the nomination of Wayne Palmer to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA.
All 12 Republicans on the HELP committee voted to approve the nominees at a meeting Thursday, and all 11 Democrats voted no, including Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who said he opposed how the votes were rushed, without hearings.
“I just feel like you shouldn’t be afraid to make your case to your committee, at a hearing, and especially make it in view of the public,” Kaine said on a press call just before the committee vote. “So the public can also understand what’s going on.”
Palmer’s nomination to lead MSHA would put him at the helm of the federal agency in charge of overseeing safety for coal miners, as well as metal, sand and stone workers. MSHA recently announced a delay in the implementation of a new silica rule until later this summer. Advocates for miners argue the long overdue safety measures would save thousands of workers from developing black lung disease.
Kaine said he’s also concerned about reports that MSHA inspectors have been laid off and by an announcement earlier this year by the Department of Government Efficiency that 35 MSHA offices across the country are slated to close. Many are in Appalachia, where miners are at the highest risk of developing black lung disease.
“We should have had a hearing and been able to ask him about the layoffs, the regional office closures, how this is gonna affect mine safety,” Kaine said. “But for some reason, the majority has decided to move forward with a committee vote without the hearing.”
Palmer’s nomination and the other six nominees will now move to the Senate floor for a final vote at a later date.
