A few weeks ago we told you about Trump’s terrible two nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – FERC.
The good news is that, thanks in part to all your calls and emails, as well as a timely hearing disruption by our friends at BXE, every single Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee voted NO. It’s the first time there’s been that level of blanket refusal to rubber stamp the commissioners who rubber stamp pipelines since 2019, and a good sign that these nominees will not sail through.
The bad news is that, despite asking some good questions during the hearing Sen King (I-ME) still voted for with every Republican on the Energy Committee to pass these nominees through to the floor. And, if Senate Republican leader Thune is successful in using the “nuclear option” to change Senate rules, these could be just the first of many dangerous and unqualified Trump nominees to be confirmed in hurried partisan votes.
For years we’ve worked with Beyond Extreme Energy and other partners to reform and re-make the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We’ve opposed both Democratic and Republican nominees, as well as those offered by Trump, and Biden. And we’ve gotten in our share of “Good Trouble” opposing them too. But we have never seen two Trump nominees as nakedly corrupt, unqualified, and dangerous as these two.
Trump’s two new nominees are Laura Swett and David LaCerte. Both worked on Project 2025 – the infamous plan to remake the US into an authoritarian state that only serves Trump and his fossil fuel paymasters. Both have a history of favoring fossil fuels over clean energy, and of working for the most terrible, cruel, and illegal parts of Trump’s energy and management teams. Both must be stopped. See our previous post for lots more on these two terrible nominees.
Senator Heinrich, the leading Democrat on the Energy Committee, seemed to agree saying:
“In normal times, I would have supported [Ms Swett’s] nomination. But these are not normal times. This Administration is issuing illegal stop work orders on fully permitted projects. They are creating a grid crisis, they are killing good union jobs, and they are raising electricity prices. And until they are willing to comply with the letter of the law, it will be difficult for me to support their nominations.
… Mr. LaCerte, on the other hand, does not meet the basic statutory requirements. He has little or no experience with the complexities of our energy industries and markets, or with the intricacies of our energy laws. … For these reasons, I will vote no on both nominations.”