Who in the Senate is upholding the approval of White House science adviser John Holdren and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) head Jane Lubchenco? From TPMDC:

To bring folks up to speed, it appeared initially that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was the sole lawmaker standing in the nominees’ way, thanks to an unrelated dispute with Democratic leaders over the Cuban trade embargo. But that obstacle is no longer operative, leaving the situation murky as Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) references multiple holds on the nominees.

Yesterday we ruled out two GOP suspects, Sens. David Vitter (LA) and Mel Martinez (FL). Today we can strike two more likely suspects from the list: Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and John Barrasso (R-WY) both strongly oppose Holdren’s pro-regulation stance on climate change, but both told me they’re not behind the holds.

Inhofe couldn’t confirm that the holds weren’t coming from his environment committee, but he said flat out: “It’s not me, though.”

More from Scientific American:

The delay isn’t about the scientists’ credentials, but is being used by Sen. Robert Menendez (D–N.J.) as a bargaining chip to gain his colleagues’ support on a matter related to Cuba, according toThe Washington Post, citing an unidentified source. It’s not clear from the story what that matter is, but as the Nature blog The Great Beyond notes, Menendez has previously criticized the Castro regime. Menendez, who is Cuban-Americans, alsoopposes Senate legislation that would ease travel restrictions to the island nation.

The full Senate must vote on the nominees, and any senator can place a hold on the votes. If Menendez doesn’t drop his objection, Senate leaders could force a vote to break the hold. Both have already been through confirmation hearings. Holdren, a 64-year-old physicist, has pushed for aggressive action to stop global warming, and marine biologist Lubchenco, 61, has criticized NOAA for not doing enough to prevent overfishing. Holdren is on leave from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he most recently was director of the program on science, technology, and public policy. Lubchenco is a professor of marine biology and zoology at Oregon State University.

And from MSNBC:

The reasons for the delay are murky: Any senator can put a hold on a confirmation vote, and for a time it looked as if the culprit was Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. But late last week, Menendez’s office told Talking Points Memo that the senator was no longer standing in the way. So who is?

Lubchenco has faced some criticism from Eastern fishing interests, but it’s Holdren who has generated the most controversy. Some worry that Holdren holds extreme views on the global climate crisis, and that science policies might be slanted to fit those views. That’s made him a lightning rod for commentators sounding the alarm about a “Democrat War on Science.”

Mooney addressed those worries in a Science Progress blog posting in December and is keeping an eye on the controversy. In Mooney’s view, the opposition is a political reaction to the years of criticism that Bush faced on the integrity issue. “What could be more obvious than to try to do a 180 and flip it, and say, ‘No, it’s Obama who’s trying to get political’?” Mooney said.

For whatever reason, Holdren’s appointment remains on hold – and thus Obama’s plan for improving scientific integrity may have to be put on hold as well.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::