Senate confirms nominees to energy panel

The Senate has confirmed three nominees to a bipartisan energy regulatory board.

The upper chamber on Wednesday confirmed the nominations of Republican Lindsay See and Democrat David Rosner to become members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

On Thursday, the Senate also confirmed Democrat Judy Chang.

The votes on the nominations were 86-9, 68-26 and 63-33, respectively. 

The commission, also known as FERC, regulates interstate energy projects including pipelines and electric power lines. 

While the five-person commission is made up of presidential appointees, it cannot have more than three members of the same party. 

See was the solicitor general for West Virginia and argued a 2022 Supreme Court case that curbed the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate climate change. 

Rosner was an energy industry analyst for FERC, and had been on detail to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Democratic staff, which was led by Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) at the time of his nomination.

Chang has served as an energy and climate official with the state of Massachusetts. She received support from every Democrat and 16 Republicans. 

Both Rosner and See divided their parties.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) voted with 23 Republicans in opposition to Rosner’s confirmation. 

Kaine raised concerns in a statement about the commission’s approval of natural gas pipelines. 

“I voted no on rubber-stamping the same old people to FERC, especially to replace a commissioner who was forced out for implementing the kinds of permitting process improvements that Americans deserve,” Kaine said in a statement following the procedural vote that preceded Rosner’s confirmation. 

He was apparently referring to former Democratic Commissioner Richard Glick, for whom Manchin declined to hold a hearing. 

See’s nomination was opposed by Missouri Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt as well as Democratic Sens. Jack Reed (R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and  Kaine, Markey, Sanders and Warren.