Senator John Ensign has gone against the Yucca Mountain Project and has told fellow republicans "If you do this, you are setting a general precedent," and "This is what really makes the majority leader the majority leader. I want you all to think about that." “I am obviously very disappointed, although not surprised, that the President chose to recommend Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste depository. Every administration for the last two decades has supported moving forward with this decision. I really think President Bush took our concerns, expressed during our recent meeting, into consideration. But the Department of Energy has been hell bent on shoving waste into our backyard, regardless of what science and common sense show.

“Baseball great Yogi Berra said, ‘it ain’t over ‘til it’s over’ and it ain’t over. Nevada has earned its name and reputation as the ‘Battle Born’ state. Now the real battle will begin. Sen. Reid and I will be arm in arm with Gov. Guinn to fight this on all sides and keep nuclear waste from crossing the state line.”