By Daniel Wiessner

Oct 9 (Reuters) - A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee on Thursday approved President Donald Trump's picks for two key roles at the National Labor Relations Board, but scrapped a vote on a third nominee whose confirmation is needed to restore the paralyzed agency's ability to decide cases.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12-11 to approve the nominations of retired NLRB lawyer James Murphy for a seat on the five-member board and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Crystal Carey to serve as the agency's general counsel. The panel's approval sends the nominations to the full Senate for confirmation votes.

But the committee canceled a planned vote on Trump's nomination of Boeing Chief Labor Counsel Scott Mayer for another seat on the board after he clashed with Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, during a hearing last week. It was not clear whether the committee still plans to vote on Mayer's nomination.

The NLRB currently has only one member, Democrat David Prouty, after Trump in January took the unprecedented step of firing Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox and Republican Marvin Kaplan's term expired in August. The loss of a quorum of at least three members has left hundreds of cases in limbo, including dozens in which employers are challenging unions' election victories.

Wilcox has sued, and her removal was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court pending the outcome of her case.

Trump also fired Biden-era NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and appointed William Cowen, a longtime NLRB staffer, as acting general counsel.

Carey and Mayer did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Murphy could not immediately be reached.

The board, which hears private-sector labor disputes and oversees union elections, would have a Republican majority for the first time since 2021 if Murphy and Mayer or another nominee are confirmed.

The general counsel is separate from the board and acts like a prosecutor, bringing complaints against employers and unions alleging illegal labor practices.

Carey was a staff attorney at the NLRB until she joined Morgan Lewis, one of the largest U.S. law firms focused on labor and employment, in 2018. She has represented Apple, General Motors, Dollar General operator Dolgencorp and videogame maker Activision Blizzard in NLRB cases.

During last week's hearing, Democrats on the Senate committee said they were skeptical that the nominees for the board seats could impartially decide labor disputes knowing that, like Wilcox, they might be removed at any time.

Murphy and Mayer both said the possibility of being fired would not deter them from neutrally applying federal labor law, and that they did not believe Trump would ask them to do anything unlawful.

Hawley, who often takes the side of unions in labor and policy disputes, grilled Mayer during the hearing about an ongoing strike involving more than 3,200 Boeing machinists in the St. Louis area seeking higher pay. He suggested that it was unfair for Boeing executives to be paid millions of dollars while striking workers go without pay and the company is under scrutiny for a number of safety issues.

Mayer responded that “the concept of fairness is an elusive one” and that he could not discuss the details of Boeing executives' compensation or labor negotiations. He said he has not been involved in negotiations involving the Missouri workers because of his pending nomination.

Mayer has been chief legal counsel at Boeing since 2022 and previously worked at Morgan Lewis, InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International and $Aramark(ARMK-W)$. Murphy had worked at the NLRB from 1974, when he was hired as a student law clerk, until his retirement in 2021. He served as counsel to dozens of NLRB members.

The HELP Committee on Thursday also approved Trump's nominations of Rosario Palmieri, a partner at Lewis Brisbois, for an assistant secretary role at the U.S. Department of Labor, and Anthony D'Esposito, a former detective and congressman from New York, to serve as the Labor Department's inspector general.

Read more:

US senators question independence of Trump's NLRB picks after member's firing

Trump nominates two lawyers to seal Republican control of US labor board

Frozen feud: How Trump and the Supreme Court helped put historic Whole Foods union bid on ice

US Supreme Court lets Trump keep labor board members sidelined for now

Trump paralyzes US labor board by firing Democratic member

Trump taps veteran NLRB lawyer as acting GC after removing Biden appointee

Trump taps EEOC's Lucas for new term, Morgan Lewis partner for NLRB general counsel

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)