Trump “quietly” changed the chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission after Election Day

[Texto / Red de observadores Chen Sijia]After Election Day, Trump continued to lose in the “battlefield states,” and the prospects for re-election appear to be increasingly bleak. As people watched the elections closely, Trump quietly did something again: replace the chairman of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

According to a CNN report on Nov. 6, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on the evening of 5 p.m. local time that the agency’s president, Neil Chatterjee, had been demoted by Trump. Job. Chatterjee became the highest-ranking American official to be removed from office after Election Day.

Chatterjee was nominated by Trump in May 2017 to become a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and was acting chairman of the agency from August to December 2017. In October 2018, he was formally appointed chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. , and has held that position since then until he was recently demoted. This committee is the highest level energy regulatory agency in the United States. Nowadays,Chatterjee is also an official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and his term as commissioner will not end until June 2021.

For this personnel change, neither the White House nor the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission provided specific details. Chatterjee also stated in an interview with the US media on the 6th thatI don’t know the specific reason why I was fired. Chatterjee said he was unable to contact the White House on this matter and that no one could provide a decent explanation.

According to the announcement issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Republican James Danly (James Danly) will succeed Chatterjee as the new chairman of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

　　Advocate for “anti-carbon behavior”, degradation or “punishment”

Some analysts believe that this degradation may be a kind of “punishment” by the White House for not supporting the coal industry and promoting the new energy industry.

The Trump administration has always supported fossil energy like coal, but Chatterjee’s philosophy runs counter to it. He has promoted policies to support electric vehicles,Solar energyAnd other clean energies, he also called for the implementation of carbon prices and other measures to strengthen the competitiveness of renewable energy.

In early 2018, Chatterjee and three other Trump administration officials voted to reject Trump’s plan to help the coal industry. Market analyst Josh Price (Josh Price) believes the White House is likely to view Chatterjee’s series of actions as “anti-coal behavior” with the intention of “accelerating the phase-out of coal.”

Chatterjee himself didn’t mind this possibility. “When I chose this path, I knew there could be bad consequences.” Chatterjee said: “I’m still guessing at the specific reasons, but if this demotion is really due to my politics, it’s totally acceptable, because I did nothing wrong and I’m proud of myself. I slept well last night too.”

CNN mentioned that Chatterjee is a native of Kentucky, and one of the pillar industries of the state is precisely the coal industry. Chatterjee’s ideas may also have something to do with his testimony of the destruction of the local economy by the decline of the coal industry.

Despite the big disagreement with the White House, Chatterjee still firmly believes that this matter is not the idea of ​​Trump’s senior staff. He speculated that this may be the result of “speculation” from low-level staff, who have just taken this opportunity to “deliver certain information” in this “crazy period”.

Chatterjee also said he was betting that “the group of people in the president’s inner circle may not know.” However, CNN stressed that the timing of this demotion is still very noticeable, it happened shortly after Election Day and also made Chatterjee the highest-ranking official to be removed from office after Election Day.

　　If Biden wins, Chatterjee wants to be the “middle man”

Even if demoted, Chatterjee remains an official of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and his term as commissioner will not end until June 2021. Chatterjee has made it clear that, of course, he will not leave the committee. He stated that even if his term ends, as long as the Senate does not appoint a new member to replace him, he can continue in this seat.

According to the regulations, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the United States is composed of five members, of which no more than three members of the same political party. Currently, there are only three committee members in the agency, two from the Republican Party and one from the Democratic Party. Two other candidates for the committee are awaiting confirmation from the United States Senate.

The results of the US elections have yet to be released, but Biden has achieved a more prominent lead, meaning that during the next US presidency, the Democratic Party is likely to control the White House and the Republican Party to control the Senate.

According to Bloomberg’s analysis, if Biden wins, the Democrats will definitely try to reorganize the Energy Regulatory Committee and appoint the Democrats as president; while the Republican-controlled Senate may try to fill the vacant agency committee seats first to make sure it doesn’t fall for the Democratic Party. hand. In fact, Chatterjee’s successor, Danley, has clearly opposed the policy of supporting new energy.

Such a blockade is likely to hamper America’s new energy policy.

Chatterjee noted: “In a divided government, there can be no Green New Deal, and you cannot embrace the carbon price.” He believes that the Energy Regulatory Commission will play a bigger role in this stalemate. Chatterjee also described himself as a “central figure”, saying he is “well suited to act as a go-between between the Biden administration and the Republican majority in the Senate” to advance the energy transition.

Despite losing his committee chair status, Chatterjee remains one of the highest-ranking energy officials in the United States. CNN noted that this demotion may even increase your influence in Washington. In Chatterjee’s own words, the demotion fully demonstrated his “independence and integrity” and was an “honor.”

Editor in Charge: Liu Wanli SF014