HARRISBURG (TNS) — Lawmakers on a state Senate committee felt so good about the nomination of Mike Carroll to lead the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that two members called it a “kumbaya moment,” as action on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s cabinet choices picked up steam.

Carroll, a former state representative well known to many lawmakers, got a favorable recommendation by the Senate Transportation Committee as he advanced Tuesday toward a final confirmation vote by the full chamber. Rick Siger, a former top staffer at Carnegie Mellon University and Mr. Shapiro’s pick to run the Department of Community and Economic Development, was also advanced by a different committee. Both have been serving in acting capacities.

Only two of Shapiro’s 20-plus cabinet nominations have been approved by the full Senate so far, but there’s plenty of time left. The Senate has 25 legislative session days after a nomination is made official to confirm the pick, and Tuesday was Day 11 for many of the nominees.

“Mike is a human encyclopedia of all things transportation,” Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Lackawanna, said as he introduced Carroll, who previously served as Democratic chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Sens. Camera Bartolotta, R-Allegheny, and Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, referred to the outpouring of praise for Mr. Carroll as a “kumbaya moment.” Langerholc said Carroll’s approach to lawmakers is “the definition of what bipartisanship is, and it is a lost art in this building.”

Carroll — already acting secretary of the 11,000 employee agency — said PennDOT had started the evaluation of permitting processes within the agency, which Shapiro called for in January. He also said the agency is in the midst of negotiations with railway company Norfolk Southern to improve tracks it owns between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, in the hope of expanding passenger rail service along a line dominated by freight trains.

Siger’s nomination was approved by the Senate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee. Prior to his time as chief of staff to the president of Carnegie Mellon, Siger was chief of staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and deputy chief of staff at the Department of Commerce.

He was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, the top Democrat in the Senate. Costa said that while at Carnegie Mellon, Siger led its strategy for growth at Hazelwood Green, a project in which the skeleton of a former steel mill is being transformed into an innovation hub. Siger told lawmakers that the state must invest “in the really strong innovation base that we already have,” citing areas of life sciences, artificial intelligence, robotics and energy.

Echoing statements from Shapiro, Siger said Pennsylvania must become more economically competitive. “We have to look hard at the programs we run,” he said. “Their effectiveness in terms of attracting businesses, the way we market sites, the way we market the commonwealth.”

A committee hearing scheduled for Monday to consider Shapiro’s pick to lead the Department of Banking & Securities, Sarah Hammer, was postponed. Another nominee, acting Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich, is scheduled to appear before a committee on Wednesday.

The two nominees already approved by the Senate are Adjutant General Mark Schindler — a post in which he will oversee the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the state’s National Guard — and State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris.

The state Constitution says that if the Senate fails to act on nominations within 25 legislative days, they are treated as if approval had been given.

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