Ethics experts sound alarm over confirmation process of Trump's pick to lead NOAA

[babylonsister]

Ethics experts sound alarm over confirmation process of Trump’s pick to lead NOAA
"Nobody could argue with a straight face" that Barry Myers doesn’t have conflicts of interest.
Kyla Mandel
Apr 3, 2019, 2:14 pm

snip//

Prior to Wednesday’s rushed vote, Myers’ nomination hit multiple snags. He was first nominated by Trump in October 2017. When Myers’ name was circulated as a possible contender for NOAA administrator, it wasn’t taken seriously. The idea of someone like the head of AccuWeather running NOAA had been a running joke among Democratic staffers. And then it happened.

His nomination marks only the second time in history that an individual without a scientific degree was put forward to lead NOAA; the first was attorney Richard Fink who served from 1977 to 1981. Myers has, however, said he acknowledges the reality of climate change and humans’ role in causing it, a fact several of Trump’s top nominees refuse to admit.

Myers’ original confirmation hearing took place in November 2017, while he was still the CEO of AccuWeather and held shares in the company. However, his nomination failed to gain the votes needed to advance, due largely to these conflicts of interest and the company’s past eagerness to effectively privatize the National Weather Service. Trump then re-nominated him in January 2018, but the year came and went without a Senate vote on his nomination.

Myers has now been nominated a third time to this position. And with Wednesday’s vote, the nomination has moved out of committee, leaving it up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to call a floor vote.

This is despite the fact that there has been no debate this year on Myers’ nomination, a standard practice for these types of nominations.

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/barry-myers-trump-accuweather-noaa-9702aad73651/

[MyOwnPeace]

1. This nomination is no less

alarming that most of those that IQ45 has made and continues to make for other administrative/cabinet positions (that is, when he even bothers to nominate anyone).

[Freethinker65]

2. What could possibly go wrong?

Fire the meteorologists and bring on the "weather girls" of the past with lots of colorful technological animation. MAGA. If you want to get real scientific weather forecasts, you need to pay.

Ugh.

[COLGATE4]

3. Ethics experts vs. Trump's administration?

Surely you jest.

[dalton99a]

4. This guy wants to privatize the National Weather Service.

'Nuf said