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.

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 its properly enforced by federal inspectors.

When the Mine Safety and Health Administration issues fines against a mine operator, the operator can appeal them to the commission. In general, a commission more aligned with operators than safety hawks is going to make it harder for inspectors to enforce the law aggressively.

The commission is supposed to have five sitting members who serve staggered terms and adjudicate cases as a panel. By tradition, the presidents party gets three members and the other party gets two. But right now, the agency only has three Senate-confirmed commissioners, with a 2-1 GOP majority. The two Republican members, William Althen and Marco Rajkovich, are longtime lawyers for mining companies.

The lone Democrat is Art Traynor, a union lawyer formerly with the United Mine Workers of America. President Joe Biden designated Traynor the commissions chair, but Traynor can still be outvoted by his two GOP counterparts on contentious cases that set precedent. Such decisions can determine when a mine operator might be fined for safety violations , or when a miner is protected under the law for their safety activism .

The White House has put up two more nominees who, if confirmed, would fill all the commissions seats and create the 3-2 Democratic majority expected under a Democratic president. Those nominees have cleared the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions but still have not gotten a vote on the Senate floor.

Elections are supposed to determine the direction of federal policy, but lesser-known agencies like the mine commission often wind up rudderless for long stretches, said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that tracks presidential nominees. Stier said the Biden White House, like most recent administrations, has been slow to fill many roles (though not as slow as former President Donald Trump). He said much of the problem lies with the Senate.

Its a classic small pipe with too much being jammed through it, he said. Its the agencies that dont have the overall political pull that end up falling by the wayside.

Tony Oppegard, a lawyer who represents miners in safety cases, said he has long viewed the commission as too favorable to operators. He was hoping the Democratic election victories in 2020 would change its complexion and lead to decisions that strengthen the law in miners favors. He noted that the commission shapes safety not just in coal mines but in metal and nonmetal mines across the country as well.

Its not right to have a Democratic president and Republicans constituting the majority of the commission, said Oppegard, many of whose clients are safety whistleblowers. For all miners in the U.S., these are extremely important positions, because they interpret the law of the [Mine Safety and Health Act] and all the intricacies of that law.

An aide for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who chairs the HELP committee, said she was pressing for a floor vote for the would-be commissioners.

Senator Murray is pushing hard to confirm Mary Lu Jordan and T.J. Baker two highly qualified nominees committed to mine workers safety and believes there is simply no reason for any further delay, the aide said in an email.

But even if the commission winds up with a Democratic majority, it might not last long.

All three of the current commissioners were appointed by the previous administration and confirmed by the then-GOP-controlled Senate as a group in 2019. But the Trump administration placed Traynor, the only Democrat, in the commission seat set to expire first, a move that could end up strengthening the GOPs hold on the commission. Traynors seat comes open this August, while Althen and Rajkovich hold their seats until August 2024 .

That means even if Democrats approve the two nominees awaiting a Senate vote, they would need to promptly reconfirm Traynor or install a new nominee in his place in order to avoid a 2-2 commission that might deadlock on cases by the end of the summer.

With control of the commission essentially up for grabs, the agency has turned into a political football.