(WASHINGTON, DC) – The U-S Senate skipped town Thursday
until after the election — leaving FERC nominee Bernard McNamee to wait for his
turn before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. McNamee, the Energy
Department's policy chief, had been scheduled to testify at his confirmation
hearing on Tuesday, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump tapped him
for the fifth FERC seat. Democrats and consumer watchdogs balked at the speedy
timeline for McNamee, a controversial pick thanks to his involvement in the administration's
efforts to prop up lagging coal and nuclear power plants. But that hearing is
likely to be rescheduled for some time in November now that senators are back
to the campaign trail.
McNamee had been scheduled to share the witness table with
Rita Baranwal, Trump's pick to lead DOE's nuclear energy office, and National
Park Service director nominee Raymond David Vela. Committee aides did not
respond to requests for comment Thursday night. It remains to be seen whether
this delay prevents McNamee from being confirmed this year, as Republicans
would like to see.
