GOP blocks Obama nominee for No. 2 at Interior

By Ted Barrett
CNN Congressional Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked President Barack Obama's choice to be the number two official at the Department of the Interior.

On a vote of 57 to 39, they sustained a filibuster against David Hayes to be deputy Interior secretary. It marked the first time the Senate has voted against one of Obama's nominees.

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, is leading the fight against Hayes.

Bennett said his opposition is not about Hayes' qualifications. Rather, Bennett said, the administration has not adequately answered his questions about why oil and gas leases in his state - which were approved in the last days of the Bush administration - were canceled by the Obama administration. He called the actions "political."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said the disputed leases are near national parks, and the Interior Department did not cancel the leases but pulled them for review.

Democratic leaders said they would hold another vote as early as next week, when three Democratic senators who were not able to vote Wednesday would be available to give Democrats the 60 votes they need to end the filibuster and approve Hayes.

Two Republican senators, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Olympia Snowe of Maine, voted in favor of Hayes.

A Republican leadership aide said another vote won't be needed if Bennett's concerns are addressed by Interior.