Senate Energy Committee reports favorably on four administration nominees

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the record voted to report favorably four administration nominees to the full Senate, the committee announced during a short business meeting that preceded a nomination hearing.

Chairman Lee said all four nominees had submitted timely answers to senators’ written questions and urged the committee to proceed quickly. The nominees recorded as reported favorably were Andrea Travnik for assistant secretary of the interior for water and science (ayes 14, nays 6), Leslie Beyer for assistant secretary of the interior for lands and mineral development (ayes 14, nays 6), and Theodore Garris for assistant secretary of energy for nuclear energy (ayes 14, nays 6). The committee also voted to report Tristan Abbey to be administrator of the Energy Information Administration (ayes 12, nays 8).

Ranking Member Senator Heinrich said he would support three of the four nominees but voiced substantial reservations about the administration’s policies at the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. Heinrich said he would vote against the EIA nominee, adding, “I will be voting no on this confirmation,” and cited concerns about recent changes at the Energy Information Administration that he said left the agency without its traditional analytical narrative and canceled the international energy outlook for 2025.

Clerk roll calls recorded the tallies that sent the nominations to the floor. After each vote, Chairman Lee said any member wishing to speak briefly on a nominee would be recognized and that the committee would proceed promptly to the hearing that had been scheduled for later in the session.

The business meeting concluded when the committee resumed its hearing on three additional nominees for senior posts at the Department of the Interior and Department of Energy.