Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources Split on Rep. Robinson’s Nomination As Assistant Secretary of Energy

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WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resource voted this morning, May 3, on the nomination of Framingham State Rep. Maria Robinson to be the next Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Office of Electricity.

The vote ended in a 10-10 tie, split via party lines, with 10 Republicans opposing her nomination by President Joseph Biden.

This was the second time a vote was schedule on her nomination.

The first vote never took place in March, due a lack of quorum.

In September 2021, President Biden nominated Rep. Robinson to be the next Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

Rep. Robinson, if confirmed by the full U.S. Senate, would head the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability within the United States Department of Energy.

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U.S. Senate Rules require the nomination to now go to a discharge petition, after the 10-10 split vote.

That means that there would be multiple floor votes to get it out of Committee.

That is possible, but it would need to be completed before the August recess.

This would be the same process that Ketanji Brown Jackson had to become a Supreme Court Justice.

“I’m looking forward to the next steps in the process,” said Robinson to SOURCE minutes after the vote today.

She was elected to the 6th Middlesex District state House seat 2018, to replace the late Rep. Chris Walsh. She is the first Korean-American to serve in the Massachusetts legislature.

Rep. Robinson leads the Massachusetts House of Representatives Clean Energy Caucus, serves as the Massachusetts state lead to the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators where she is on the board, and is the only state legislator on the U.S. EPA Clean Air Act Advisory Committee.

Under the state’s redistricting plan which begins in January 2023, Rep. Robinson would resides in the 7th Middlesex District house seat, along with district’s currently elected official Jack Patrick Lewis.

Rep. Robinson has said, if she is confirmed, she will resign from her 6th Middlesex District seat.

Today, May 3 is the deadline to submit nomination papers for the 6th & 7th Middlesex District seat to be on the ballot.

Robinson is not expected to submit papers today for another term.

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