Senate EPW Committee advances nominees for FHWA, EPA and Army Corps despite partisan objections

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on May 21 voted to favorably report three presidential nominees: Sean McMaster to lead the Federal Highway Administration, John Buster Rood to serve as an assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, and Adam Tell to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

Chair Shelley Moore Capito, who presided over the business meeting, called for votes after opening remarks and asked members who wished to speak on the nominations to do so after the roll calls. "I urge my colleagues to support these nominees," Capito said during her opening statement.

Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse said he would back Sean McMaster and Adam Tell but opposed John Buster Rood, delivering an extended critique of EPA policy under the current administration. "The Environmental Protection Agency has become the polluter protection agency," Whitehouse said, calling recent actions "a swamp of corruption" and criticizing a Republican reconciliation bill provision he said would suspend a methane fee for 10 years.

Whitehouse also said the Department of Transportation had paused implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program established in the bipartisan infrastructure bill and noted DOT had told his staff draft guidance for the program would be released in two weeks. "Based on this assurance, I will vote in favor of Mr. McMaster's nomination, but that support on the floor will evaporate if the draft guidance doesn't appear or is unworkable for states," he said.

Senator Alex Padilla explained his multiple "no" votes and a separate hold he has placed on EPA nominees. Padilla said he found Mr. Tell qualified but could not support advancing McMaster or other nominees because of what he described as the administration and agency withholding funds from projects in California and actions that undermine the state's clean-air authority. "I simply cannot ignore the partisan way in which the Army Corps under this administration has treated California," Padilla said, citing the Pajaro River flood risk management project as an example of an authorized project that received no funding in recent work plans.

Senator John Curtis briefly associated himself with Whitehouse's concern about methane and raised capital-access issues for small well owners in his state who could not afford to capture emissions despite potential net-cost savings.

Votes at a glance - Sean McMaster — Nomination advanced. Motion to approve moved by Chair Shelley Moore Capito and seconded; roll-call speech excerpts show a majority of affirmative responses and the committee "favorably reported" the nomination after the roll call. Recorded voice votes and proxy statements included a mix of "aye" and "no by proxy" entries during the clerk's roll call.

- John Buster Rood — Nomination advanced. Motion to approve moved by Chair Capito and seconded; the clerk's roll call recorded more affirmative responses than negative ones and the committee "favorably reported" the nomination.

- Adam Tell — Nomination advanced. Motion to approve moved by Chair Capito and seconded; the clerk reported the yeas and nays and the nominee was "favorably reported." The clerk announced the yeas are 13 and the nays 6 during the roll call.

Formal actions in the meeting were limited to motions to advance the three presidential nominations. After each motion, a senator spoke and the clerk carried out a roll-call sequence that recorded individual "aye" or "no by proxy" responses from committee members and, in the case of Adam Tell, a stated tally reported by the clerk.

Why it matters The committee's endorsements send the three nominees to the full Senate for consideration. Debate during the business meeting focused less on the nominees' personal qualifications than on broader policy disputes: the pace of Department of Transportation guidance on electric-vehicle charging (the NEVI program), the treatment of authorized Army Corps flood-control projects in California, and EPA enforcement and regulatory choices including the handling of a methane fee and California's long-standing waiver authority under the Clean Air Act.

What was not decided Committee approval does not equal Senate confirmation. Several senators said their votes on the floor could differ from their committee votes depending on how agencies act going forward; Ranking Member Whitehouse explicitly said his support for McMaster on the floor depended on timely DOT action on NEVI guidance. Senator Padilla said he would maintain holds on EPA nominees until the administration and EPA provide acceptable accommodations for California on air-quality authority and project funding.

Additional context Speakers repeatedly referenced the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program (NEVI), the Clean Air Act and the Congressional Review Act in explaining their positions. Senators also discussed methane emissions from oil and gas production and concerns about enforcement and fee provisions that some senators said would be weakened or suspended by recent policy actions or legislative proposals.

The committee adjourned after a short period for members to ask questions or make statements following the roll-call votes.