Tapping a respected Southern California businessman as the next commerce secretary seemed an astute move by President Barack Obama to mend fences with corporate America, but former Edison International Chief Executive John Bryson still faces a rocky road for confirmation.
Heading into a Senate hearing Tuesday, Bryson, 67, has become a pawn in a hyper-partisan Washington political chess match that has left dozens of nominees on hold.
Bryson himself has drawn surprisingly vocal opposition from several Republicans. They object to some of his environmental views and his role more than 40 years ago in co-founding an organization they despise, the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"To me, he's not qualified to be secretary of commerce at a time when we have 9.1 percent unemployment," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a member of his party's leadership.
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