News reports say Sen. John McCain is putting a hold on the nominations of Bob Abbey for director of the Bureau of Land Management, and Wilma Lewis for Interior assistant secretary for land and minerals management, in an effort to turn around the Obama administration's position on the proposed federal land exchange bill (S409) needed for the Resolution Copper project to move forward. [right, parcels involved in the proposed land exchange. Credit, Resolution Copper]
Sen. Jon Kyl previously held up an Energy Dept. nomination to get a Senate committee hearing on the bill.