Key federal agency FERC at odds with incoming Trump presidency

OPINION:

It is a well-known feature of life in Washington that as we get closer to the end of the year, members of Congress, like students toward the end of the semester, tend to lose focus and sometimes turn in less-than-optimal work.

Everyone is acquainted with the phrase “clearing the decks,” which will be forever associated with the terrible practice of packing a bunch of spending and assorted losing propositions into lame-duck legislation.

But the questionable workmanship extends beyond spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need without anything that looks even remotely like a regular order.

Sometimes, Congress unwittingly ties the hands of an incoming president.

Such is the possibility concerning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For those who may not have heard of FERC, it is an agency that regulates the provision of electricity, permits transmission lines and natural gas pipelines, and shares responsibility for the electric system’s reliability.

So the commission — and the five commissioners who run it — are kind of important. Important enough that the law requires that no more than three commissioners come from one political party to ensure the place doesn’t careen into naked partisanship.

This importance was highlighted recently when the commission issued an order about how regional transmission projects should be planned and paid for. It will not surprise you to learn that a federal agency run by President Biden’s appointees created a regulatory structure that set the stage for an increase in alternative energy. That’s how the system should work: Mr. Biden won the 2020 election, so his government will pursue that sort of thing.

One of the current commissioners is leaving, however, which — combined with two current vacancies — has caused Mr. Biden to nominate three new commissioners: one Republican and two Democrats. If they are all confirmed by the Senate, the commission will have three Democrats and two Republican commissioners. One of the Republican commissioners’ terms expires in June 2025.

As a practical matter, that means that if former President Donald Trump wins — which at the moment is more likely than not — FERC, which is, apart from the Environmental Protection Agency, the most important federal agency for energy, would be run by three Democratic commissioners and just one Republican commissioner.

It takes no special wisdom or insight to conclude that such an arrangement — in which commissioners selected by Mr. Biden would run the agency responsible for permitting dams, natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas projects — might not wind up being the best answer for the new administration or really, for anyone in favor of coherent government.

Fortunately, the Senate can address this potential challenge. On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a meeting to consider Mr. Biden’s three nominees. Let’s be clear: Each of the nominees is an outstanding public servant with unique perspectives and experiences. Americans would be fortunate to have the service of all three as FERC commissioners.

For the system to work as designed, however, the people’s will needs to be incorporated into the federal government’s activities. That happens through elections. If Mr. Trump is sworn in as president in January, he — and those who voted for him — should have an energy regulatory body that reflects their preferences.

At this point in the electoral cycle, the Senate should avoid creating a situation in which FERC is fundamentally at odds with the person who is likely to be the next president.

• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times and a co-host of the podcast “The Unregulated.”