OSHA Nominee Stalled in Senate
JANUARY 18, 2018
President Trump’s nominee to lead OSHA, current FedEx Ground Executive Scott Mugno, will likely have to wait several additional weeks for Senate confirmation. Mr. Mugno’s nomination was approved on a party-line vote by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee last month, but his nomination has not been considered on the Senate floor.
Procedurally, his nomination must now be returned to the HELP Committee for an additional round of hearings. While Mr. Mugno is likely to once again garner a sufficient number of votes to advance out of Committee, the functional result will be to ensure that OSHA remains without top-level leadership for the next several weeks.
OSHA has not had an Administrator since the final days of the Obama Administration, and several significant policies, such as the future of OSHA’s electronic injury and illness reporting regulation, have remained in limbo. The HELP Committee has not yet scheduled another hearing to consider Mr. Mugno’s nomination.