Murkowski on Obama’s rumored energy nominee: ‘That could work’

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the top Republican on the Senate’s energy committee, signaled that a leading contender to run the Energy Department may receive GOP support.

Asked about Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Ernest Moniz on Tuesday, Murkowski cautioned that she would need to look more into his background and credentials, but she added the rumored nomination has not prompted pushback so far.

“What I have heard is that he has not generated a negative reaction from either side,” Murkowski said.

“At this point in time, I think he is a name that people are saying, ‘hmmm, that could work,’” said Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will vet the nominee for Energy secretary.

Murkowski’s careful statements, while issued with caveats, signal that Moniz may receive GOP support, or at least avoid the type of attacks directed at just-confirmed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Moniz directs MIT’s Energy Initiative and is already among the Obama administration’s outside advisers. He served as under secretary of energy at the department for several years during the Clinton administration.

Moniz, if nominated and confirmed, would replace outgoing Secretary Steven Chu.

Some environmentalists have criticized Moniz over his support for natural gas drilling and nuclear power, and the funding that his MIT energy program receives from major energy companies.

UPDATE: Murkowski also sounded bullish about Moniz on Wednesday. 

“I’m thinking [Moniz] could be a person we could work with,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an Energy Department summit on energy technology innovation.

––This post was updated at 12:30 p.m.

––Zack Colman contributed