Last night, President Bush renominated Susan Dudley to the position of administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) — the powerful regulatory arm of the White House.

Has President Bush been reading Reg Watch? In two Monday blogs (here and here), Reg Watch chided the Bush administration for considering naming the controversial nominee, who failed to win confirmation last year, an OIRA senior advisor.

Though more responsible than an advisor appointment — which would have circumvented the Constitutional nomination process — Dudley’s renomination is a colossal mistake. If Dudley’s record and comments are any indication, she would likely roll back decades of worker and public health protections and halt any future regulatory progress.

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in the Republican-controlled 109th Congress did not think enough of Dudley to bring her to the floor for a vote. Prospects in the 110th are hopeful, as new chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) was not warm to Ms. Dudley during last year’s confirmation hearing. The new Senate should serve its Constitutional power and disallow President Bush from installing this anti-regulatory zealot. And although the senior advisor appointment is still a possibility, the Bush administration should abandon that ill-conceived idea.

Posted by Matt Madia, 04:28:05 PM