WASHINGTON – Bernard McNamee, a former advisor to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and fellow at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, said Thursday he would not seek a second term on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
With only six months left in his term, the announcement puts a near end date on the service of a powerful conservative voice at FERC, who has argued against policy encouraging energy companies to shift away from fossil fuels as unlawful and detrimental to the U.S. economy.
“Since his first day at @ FERC, [McNamee] hit the ground running, bringing a wealth of experience & insight to the Commission,” FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee tweeted Thursday. “I look forward to continuing the good work we started together.”
A spokesman for McNamee said he would put out a statement shortly.
From the moment President Donald Trump nominated him in 2018, McNamee has proved controversial. As the Senate debated his confirmation, video emerged of him calling climate change efforts, “an organized propaganda war” against fossil fuels.
Last month, he and Chatterjee ruled that state power regulators had the right to assess a surcharge on power sources that receive government subsidy, a blow to wind and solar farms, along with nuclear power plants, facilities many states are trying to grow in an effort to reduce their carbon footprints.
“McNamee has an abysmal record of approving dirty fossil fuel projects and obstructing urgently needed clean energy reform,” said Jean Su, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s critical for the Senate to approve a new FERC commissioner who isn’t a fossil fuel flunky.”
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