Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hears nominees for deputy secretaries as members press on DOE funding, national labs and public‑lands management

Catherine McGregor and James Danley, President Trump's nominees to serve as deputy secretaries of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy, respectively, appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for a confirmation hearing that focused on agency management, contract rescissions, national‑lab security and public‑lands and wildfire priorities.

The committee's ranking member, Senator Martin Heinrich, said he would press the nominees on reports that the Department of Energy was “considering canceling or renegotiating existing funding contracts” and reminded the panel that “the decision to rescind these awards rests with Congress, not with the president, and certainly not with Elon Musk.” The session included sustained exchanges about staffing and program continuity at Interior, research security at the national laboratories, and permitting and grid reliability at Energy.

McGregor, who previously served as Interior deputy secretary, described returning to the agency as a chance to reduce delays in permitting and improve frontline service. She said, “I fully intend if confirmed to obey the law,” and repeatedly committed to…