The anti-”czar” frenzy has faded a bit, despite two Senate hearings on the extremely flimsy controversy. Today, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) wades back in and makes a hash of things.

“Why does President Obama appear so eager to appoint ‘czars,’” he asks, “while leaving positions requiring Senate confirmation unfilled?” The Republican holds on and filibusters against many of the president’s nominees go unmentioned, but Akin argues that the administration isn’t trying hard enough to staff up. And that’s less of a mistake than one of Akin’s three examples of unexamined appointees:

John Holdren, the “science czar.”

Holdren is Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate on March 19, 2009.