Republicans still effectively control mine-safety commission, which seems not to be a priority for Senate Democrats

"Sixteen months into the Biden presidency, Republicans still effectively control a federal agency that oversees mine safety, frustrating miner advocates who say the Trump nominees will continue to hand down decisions friendly to mine operators," Dave Jamieson reports for Huffpost. "Not many people outside the industry would be familiar with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency that reviews legal disputes stemming from citations and fines against mining companies. But the commission plays a crucial role in making sure workers come out of their mines alive, by interpreting health and safety law and seeing that it’s properly enforced by federal inspectors."

The commission is meant to have five members with staggered terms: three from the president's party and two from other parties. Right now the chair, Art Traynor, is the only Democrat on the commission, and he can be outvoted by his two Republican counterparts, William Althen and Marco Rajkovich (both of whom are longtime mining company lawyers). President Biden has nominated two Democrats, but the Senate has not scheduled a vote to confirm them, Jamieson reports. 

The main problem is that the Senate has too much on its plate to prioritize the mine safety commissioner confirmations, according to Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which tracks presidential nominees. "It’s a classic small pipe with too much being jammed through it," he told Jamieson. "It’s the agencies that don’t have the overall political pull that end up falling by the wayside." One United Mine Mine Workers of America official said he believes a Republican senator is blocking the confirmation votes with a hold, Jael Holzman reports for Energy & Environment News. Even if Biden's two nominees were quickly confirmed, the commission might not stay under Democrats' control for long unless the Senate also reconfirms Traynor, since his term expires in August, Jamieson notes.

Traynor, meanwhile, has recently alleged "seriously unethical and criminal misconduct" by the two Republican commissioners, including fraudulent work benefits issued through a pandemic relief program, Holzman reports.