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Senate confirms deputy Commerce secretary

Karen Dunn Kelley’s “noncontroversial” nomination had been pending for more than five months.

   The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Karen Dunn Kelley to be deputy Commerce secretary.
   Dunn Kelley was nominated for the position in June. She has been serving as under secretary of Commerce for economic affairs and as acting deputy secretary. The position to which she has been confirmed has been officially open since the end of the Obama administration.
   “Throughout her career, Ms. Dunn Kelley has exhibited the kind of leadership that the Department of Commerce needs to continue promoting economic growth, job creation and innovation,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement. “This noncontroversial nominee, previously confirmed by the Senate unanimously, has been subjected to an unreasonably long delay due to obstruction by some Democrats.”

Brian Bradley

Based in Washington, D.C., Brian covers international trade policy for American Shipper and FreightWaves. In the past, he covered nuclear defense, environmental cleanup, crime, sports, and trade at various industry and local publications.