President Trump named James Danly chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday, replacing fellow Republican commissioner Neil Chatterjee. The White House did not say why Trump removed Chatterjee, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who had chaired the powerful energy commission for several years, though he will remain on the commission until his term ends in June.
But a few weeks earlier, Chatterjee had urged the FERC to increase its work to counter climate change, specifically by encouraging power grid operators to embrace state carbon pricing policies. Alex Flint of the Alliance for Market Solutions told Axios that this embrace of carbon was why he was demoted. "Chatterjee demonstrated tremendous integrity and independence by acknowledging the need to address climate change," he said. "That cost him his chairmanship, but it also set him apart and cemented his standing as one of FERC's great leaders."
The Washington Examiner's Joshua Siegel reported the same thing.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Danly's tenure could be short-lived," Axios reports. "If Joe Biden becomes president next January, he would be expected to appoint a Democrat as chairman. Currently the commission has two Republicans, while Richard Glick is the lone Democrat. Two nominees, Republican Mark Christie and Democrat Allison Clements, are pending before the Senate."
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all timeThe Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louderTHE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
