WINNING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PEOPLE: Murkowski’s committee postponed confirmation vote for Trump nominees.

The committee led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski postponed a vote on six Trump administration nominees on Wednesday, the same day a Cabinet secretary allegedly threatened retribution against the Alaska Republican over her healthcare vote. . . .

Murkowski and other GOP senators have repeatedly criticized Democrats for trying to delay confirmations of Trump administration officials.

The six nominees who would have gotten a vote Thursday morning are Brenda Burman to be commissioner of reclamation at Interior; Susan Combs to be assistant secretary of the Interior for policy, management and budget; Doug Domenech to be assistant secretary of the Interior for insular affairs; Paul Dabbar to be undersecretary for science of the Department of Energy (DOE); David Jonas to be general counsel of the DOE; and Mark Wesley Menezes to be undersecretary of the DOE.

The group had a relatively easy confirmation hearing last week. Each nominee also needs a vote in the full Senate before being sworn in.

Both Zinke and Energy Secretary Rick Perry are the only Senate-confirmed officials at their agencies, more than six months after President Trump’s inauguration.

I’m not a fan of Murkowski’s.