Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday endorsed his senior energy adviser, Neil Chatterjee, to join the nation’s energy watchdog, saying his record persuading Democratic stalwart Sen. Barbara Boxer on difficult legislative issues would benefit the agency greatly.

“We call Neil ‘the Boxer whisperer’ in my office. It’s a term of endearment, I assure you,” said the Kentucky Republican in introducing Chatterjee at a confirmation hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.