Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Vermont Senator James Jeffords have ended a boycott over the nomination of Utah Governor Mike Leavitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday in voting overwhelmingly to send Leavitt’s nomination to the Senate floor for a vote. Jeffords, an independent who had previously blocked the vote, said today’s vote was allowed out of respect for Governor Leavitt.
The 19-member committee voted 16 to two to advance the Republican governor’s nomination.