Trump names energy industry adviser to chair FERC
President Trump has nominated industry adviser and lawyer Kevin McIntyre to lead the nation’s top energy watchdog, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The White House announced its intention to nominate McIntyre Thursday evening, even as a number of Trump’s other nominees await votes on the Senate floor to be confirmed.
McIntyre has been in the running for a job on the commission for months. The commission was forced to stop all regulatory decisions because of a lack of quorum that has lasted five months.
The FERC is made up of five members, two Republicans and two Democrats, and the chairman shares the same party as the president. Currently, there is only one member on the commission, Democrat Cheryl LaFleur, who was appointed by Trump to lead the body as it’s restocked with commissioners. That forced President Obama’s chairman, Norman Bay, to immediately announce his resignation in February, which left the commission without a quorum after both Republicans had already left due to expired terms.
Two of Trump’s Republican commissioners, Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson, are awaiting to be voted on by the Senate. They were passed out of the energy committee early last month. Trump also nominated Richard Glick to replace Democratic Commissioner Colette Honorable, who stepped down on June 30. Glick hasn’t had a hearing yet in Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the first step toward confirmation.
