The Trump administration's plan to nominate Republican James Danly as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member without also announcing a Democratic pick for the agency will threaten "decades of precedent" on paired nominations, environmental groups and U.S. Senate Democrats said.
The omission coincides with partisan divides at FERC and on Capitol Hill over the proper way to assess the climate change impacts of proposed natural gas infrastructure and how to accommodate state clean energy goals within competitive power markets.
On Sept. 30, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Danly, who is currently FERC's general counsel, to a five-year term as commissioner that will expire on June 30, 2023. The five-member agency currently has a 2-1 GOP majority following the exit of former Democratic Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur in August and the death of Republican Kevin McIntyre in January.
Despite FERC having vacancies for both parties, the White House did not name a Democratic nominee for the commission, even though Senate Democrats had reportedly settled on lawyer
"The administration should not play politics with our national energy policy and instead follow tradition by formally nominating both a Republican and a Democrat as a pair to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
According to a Sept. 20 story from E&E News, Schumer reportedly threatened to block legislation from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unless the panel moves GOP and Democratic FERC candidates together. Schumer's office has not confirmed those reports, however.
The White House's announcement also angered environmental groups.
"The nomination of only one commissioner when there are two vacancies reflects a further erosion of long-standing norms and undercuts the independence and bipartisan decision making at FERC," said John Moore, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Sustainable FERC Project. "The White House needs to nominate — and the Senate needs to consider — two nominees for two vacancies."
The Union of Concerned Scientists said attempts to fill just the GOP vacancy would be a "marked departure from decades of precedent" and that the Senate should not advance Danly's nomination without Clements. "Unless the Senate demands a fully functioning, bipartisan FERC, President Trump will be happy to leave Democratic seats empty and silence meaningful bipartisan discourse," the group's senior energy analyst, Sam Gomberg, said.
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In the past 30 years, the Senate has frequently confirmed GOP and Democratic FERC nominees at the same time when vacancies existed for both parties, including in November 2017, when the Senate approved McIntyre and current Democratic Commissioner Richard Glick for the agency.
Energy industry stakeholders, including green groups, say the need for party balance is particularly important now as FERC is being pushed to give greater consideration to the greenhouse gas-related impacts of natural gas pipelines and LNG export facilities. The commission is also at the center of debates over how wholesale power markets should accommodate state clean energy policies and whether additional support is needed for financially vulnerable coal and nuclear plants to ensure grid resilience.
But Republican leaders appear ready to proceed with Danly's nomination, regardless of whether a Democrat joins him.
"I welcome the President's decision to nominate a Republican commissioner and to fill a critical seat that has now been vacant for nine full months," U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said on Oct. 1. She added, however, that the committee cannot hold a confirmation hearing for Danly until it receives a formal nomination and associated paperwork.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the top Democrat on the Senate energy committee, said he was "disappointed" the president only announced his intent to nominate Danly but stopped short of saying he would attempt to block confirmation without a Democratic pairing.
"I remain hopeful the administration will quickly nominate a Democratic commissioner so we can consider nominations for both vacancies together and restore a fully functioning FERC," Manchin said. "I take the responsibility to review each nominee that comes before us very seriously. I look forward to meeting with Mr. Danly and reviewing his qualifications to serve as a FERC commissioner."
Senators can request a hold on a nomination if they oppose a particular nominee, but the Senate majority leader ultimately controls whether and how long to honor the hold, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

