Senate says no to Biden choice for NLRB post

As President Joe Biden's term winds down to its last few weeks, members of his administration are attempting to do whatever they can to shape the D.C. landscape in which President-elect Donald Trump will have to work.

However, those efforts suffered a setback on Wednesday when the Senate scuttled Biden's nomination of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair Lauren McFerran, thanks in large part to the actions of Independent Sens. Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), as Reuters reports.

Independents sink nominee

McFerran's fate was sealed when the Senate, by a margin of 50-49, voted against advancing her candidacy to a confirmation vote.

Sinema and Manchin both voted against McFerran's advancement, something that did not sit well with the Democrats with whom they still caucus, despite leaving the party in recent years.

McFerran was the subject of heated opposition from business interests as well as Republican lawmakers, largely due to NLRB decisions issued during her tenure thought by some to give unfair advantage to unions.

While it is possible that another attempt at a confirmation vote could be held, D.C. insiders suggests that one would be unlikely to succeed.

The broader impact of Manchin and Sinema's move is that Trump, upon taking office in January, will have the opportunity to quickly tap two nominees for seats on the NLRB, a scenario many incoming presidents do not enjoy.

Reactions pour in

Business groups were elated at the outcome, given McFerran's controversial tenure, one marked by the reversal of longstanding precedents and exhaustion of agency resources.

Glenn Spencer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opined, “The NLRB should be focused on promoting fairness, not tipping the scale in favor of a select few in organized labor at the expense of workers and businesses alike.”

As SEMAFOR reported, Manchin had no regrets about his decision to sink McFerran's nomination, despite the fact that Democrats had been “playing hardball” to convince him to go their way.

However, he said, because of her support for the joint-employer regulation that expanded the NLRB's power, he could not, in good conscience, support her return.

Precisely how Trump will parlay the unusually beneficial situation he will have with regard to the NLRB after his inauguration next month, only time will tell.