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Senator Justice urges rapid action on energy and grid reliability during confirmation hearing
Summary
Senator Justice praised nominees MacGregor and Danley while warning that the nation faces an "astronomical" energy problem and an imminent electricity 'meltdown' unless officials act quickly; Senator Wyden echoed his remarks.
During a Senate confirmation hearing for two energy nominees, Senator Justice urged colleagues to take immediate steps to address what he called an “astronomical” energy problem that could produce an "electricity meltdown" within about a year and a half if not confronted.
Senator Justice said he and his colleagues all value public lands, hunting and wildlife habitat, then pivoted to a forceful warning about national energy needs. “We have an energy problem that is astronomical, and it's going to be so so important and so big that we best better get at trying to do something with all in us to address this situation,” he said. He added that the coming demand could exceed major historical mobilizations, comparing it to the scale of World War II.
Justice praised the nominees—"Miss MacGregor and Mister Danley"—and said he expected their confirmation. “You're gonna do great. You're absolutely gonna be confirmed. Absolutely, I am all in,” he said. He repeated a call for swift action: “For God's sake of living, let's go. Let's go. We gotta do something.”
On security and competitiveness, Justice warned that failure to act could cede advantage to foreign adversaries. “We will have to defer to people of the world that are not our allies, but they're our adversaries,” he said, adding that this outcome could happen "soon." He repeatedly invoked West Virginia’s energy experience, saying the state has "stepped up" in past national crises and urging similar urgency now.
Senator Wyden briefly responded after Justice, saying he agreed and quipping about listening to "white haired men from West Virginia," and told Justice the remarks were well said.
The transcript excerpt contains no formal motions, votes, or committee actions. It records remarks in support of the nominees and a call for policymakers to accelerate work on energy and grid preparedness. No dates, specific policy proposals, funding amounts, bill numbers, or formal directives appear in the provided excerpt.
The remarks occurred in the context of a confirmation proceeding; the transcript indicates the two individuals named—MacGregor and Danley—are nominees, but it does not specify the office to which they were nominated or the committee name.
