|
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee deadlocked on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning, President Biden's pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management. The partisan 10-10 vote creates an extra procedural step before Stone-Manning can be confirmed on the Senate floor.
The committee debate was heated, with Republicans focused on a 30-year-old case in which Stone-Manning testified against activists who spiked trees in an Idaho forest. Committee Chairman Joe Manchin led a well-prepared defense of Stone-Manning and her record, along with several other committee members.
On the Senate floor, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made it clear he would prioritize the votes to confirm Stone-Manning, saying that "the Republican minority on the Committee are trying to turn this consensus-driven, well-respected nominee into another partisan flashpoint."
Right-wing media's role
As the committee was fighting over Stone-Manning, the watchdog group Media Matters for America published a lengthy look at how right-wing media outlets, including Fox News, stoked the character assassination campaign against Biden's nominee. MMFA points out that Fox's obsession with Stone-Manning reinforces its narrative that President Joe Biden is secretly “a bloodthirsty radical.”
|
I have been unable to find any credible evidence in the exhaustive records of the tree-spiking case that Ms. Stone-Manning is an eco-terrorist. What I find instead is compelling evidence that she built a solid reputation over the past three decades as a dedicated public servant and problem solver.”
