The Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee has approved President Barack Obama’s nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. The nominees will next be considered by the full Senate. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), says he has strong reservations about one of the nominees, and led several Republicans in voting against him at an Oct. 20 committee meeting.

Before the committee vote, McCain said that he had no choice but to oppose the nomination of Craig Becker—a long-time union-side attorney—because the committee had not held a confirmation hearing, where questions about his views could be addressed. “This is a controversial nominee,” he said. Becker currently is associate general counsel to the Service Employees International union and the AFL-CIO.