Two Port Authority nominees approved

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey state Senate has confirmed the two men Gov. Chris Christie wants to add to the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Senate confirmed John Degnan and George Laufenberg for the jobs just hours after both were advanced by the Senate judiciary committee following hearings.

Degnan is a former state attorney general and is Christie's choice to chair the board. He replaces David Samson, who resigned in March.

Laufenberg, the administrative manager of the New Jersey Carpenters Funds, will replace board member Anthony Sartor, who stepped down in April.

The Port Authority is under scrutiny in the aftermath of the shutdown of traffic lanes near its George Washington Bridge last year in a political retribution scandal.

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