The White House has renominated James Danly to serve as Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Danly, a Republican, currently serves as FERC’s general counsel. Danly was first nominated by President Trump on September 30, 2019 to fulfill the remainder of the late Chairman Kevin McIntyre’s term, expiring June 30, 2023. Danly’s testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on November 5, 2019 was favorably reported. However, his nomination lapsed on January 3, 2020 and was returned to the White House for renomination when the Senate did not act on it prior to the end of 2019.
Danly’s nomination today is not currently paired with a Democratic nomination to fill the seat left vacant by Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur’s departure in August 2019. With Commissioner McNamee’s recent announcement that he will not seek renomination when his term ends on June 30, 2020, the future of FERC’s quorum is again called into question.