Kathleen Hartnett-White, President Donald Trump s pick to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, was just one Senate vote away from becoming the White Houses top environmental adviser.

But late Thursday night, the controversial former Texas regulator returned to square one.

The Senate sent her nomination back to the White House as part of a deal to close out the legislative session before the holidays. Earlier this week, Democrats mounted a last-minute effort to exclude Hartnett-White from any agreement to table nominations and pick up where they left off in the confirmation process when the Senate reconvenes in January.

Trump is now required to re-nominate her, forcing Hartnett-White to start the process over, including a new vote before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The panel narrowly voted along party lines on Nov. 29 to advance her to the full Senate despite a bruising hearing at which she struggled to answer basic science questions and repeatedly contradicted herself. Videos of her stammered responses went viral.

The decision to send her nomination back makes Hartnett-White the second major environmental pick to crater this month. Less than two weeks ago, Michael Dourson, Trumps pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agencys chemical safety division, withdrew his name from consideration after two Republican senators signaled they planned to vote against his confirmation. Democrats and environmentalists adamantly opposed Dourson, a researcher whose work often bolstered the safety claims of the tobacco companies and chemical manufacturers that paid him.