Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has abruptly blocked one of President Joe Biden’s nominees from further consideration after the department he has been nominated to lead proposed new regulations on gas-powered stoves.
Biden had named Jeff Marootian as his choice to lead the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) in July of last year but the Senate failed to finalize his nomination before the end of the last session of Congress, forcing Biden to renominate him in January. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was set to consider the nomination during a hearing on Wednesday, but Manchin—the committee chairman—canceled the vote on Wednesday morning….