"Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department on Wednesday in a dispute over oil and gas development on federal lands, but Democrats vowed they would soon make a second attempt to win confirmation.
The 57-39 vote was three short of the 60 needed to advance David Hayes past Republican objections, and made him the first of Obama's top-level nominees to be sidetracked on the Senate floor.
Hayes, an environmental lawyer picked by Obama to serve as deputy secretary of the Interior Department, held the same post during the last three years of the Clinton administration. He also led Obama's natural resources transition team, responsible for naming a new Interior Department chief."
Dina Cappiello reports for the Associated Press May 13, 2009.
See Also:
Senate Blocks Interior Nominee (Salt Lake Tribune)
Senate Defeats Cloture (Greenwire/NYTimes)
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