The Commerce Committee of the US Senate on Thursday gave a go-ahead to President Joe Biden’s nomination of Eric Lander to be chief science adviser.

Lander’s official designation will be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, a position that got a Cabinet rank promotion.

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Lander is the founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A geneticist by training, he was the lead author of the first paper announcing the details of the human genome, the “book of life.”

The Commerce Committee chairperson Senator Maria Cantwell said she wished the President had given the nomination to a woman, but added that Lander has pledged to work to elevate women and minorities in science.

“Dr. Lander and I have come to a focus and understanding that the very first task (he) should focus on is helping all of us add diversity of women and minorities in the science field. So he and I will be working aggressively on that,” Cantwell was quoted as saying by ABC News.

Lander’s nomination was approved on a voice vote. Six Republicans opposed Lander due to his meetings with late Jeffery Epstein. Senator Marsha Blackburn said at his confirmation hearing that meetings with Epstein, a disgraced financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide, were “of tremendous concern.”

No senator mentioned Epstein or any allegation against Lander at Thursday’s committee meeting, ABC News reported.