The New York Times (H/T The Questionable Authority) is reporting that the Senate Science, Commerce, and Transportation Committee met in markup and formally approved the nominations of Dr. Holdren (Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy) and Dr. Lubchenco (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).  The nominations have been held up by what appears to be a series of holds by various Senators.  As the holds are traditionally anonymous, only one of them has been connected to a particular Senator – Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey).  But his hold lapsed a few days ago, meaning that other Senators have been holding up these nominations.  As Senator Menendez held the nomination in connection with Cuba policy, there is no way of knowing if the current holds have anything to do with policy areas under the jursidiction of these nominees.  There is well-reasoned speculation about who is involved, but I’m not inclined to repeat it absent a confirmation.  In any event, there’s a good chance this has nothing to do with science or science policy.  Once again, it’s not at all about science and technology, but that’s a hard lesson to learn in some circles.