There Are No Mulligans in Confirmation Hearings

After DEQ nominee demonstrated disqualifying lack of knowledge on key issues during her first hearing, Dems want a do-over

Sen. Rabon: “There are no mulligans in confirmation hearings. The Senate will vote on the nominee tomorrow.”

Raleigh, N.C. — Senate Republicans today announced that Dionne Delli-Gatti, Gov. Roy Cooper’s nominee to lead the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), did not have the votes for confirmation.

Ms. Delli-Gatti spent weeks meeting with individual senators and had a multi-hour confirmation hearing last month. All senators asked every question they had of Ms. Delli-Gatti.

During that hearing, she could not articulate the Cooper Administration’s natural gas strategy, which she would presumably lead or at least be heavily involved in, nor was she informed about a major pipeline that her own agency rejected 48 hours later. The senators concluded that lack of awareness on those key issues is disqualifying.

Today, Senate Democrats argued that Ms. Delli-Gatti should be given a do-over.

Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, said, “There are no mulligans in confirmation hearings. The nominee does not get a do-over just because she demonstrated a lack of knowledge on key issues during the first go-around. The full Senate will vote on her confirmation tomorrow.”