Noting several deaths from portable generators in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration's pick to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission over her past opposition to emissions caps and her selection of an industry lawyer to serve as the agency's top in-house lawyer.

Ann Marie Buerkle, a Republican member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission whom Trump elevated to acting chairwoman in February, was nominated in July to lead the agency in a permanent capacity and serve a new, seven-year term that would begin in October 2018.

At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Buerkle was pressed on her vote last year opposing a proposal to limit emissions on portable power generators, which have been cited in carbon monoxide poisoning deaths.