Dear Senators:

As a person who is deeply concerned about the deepening climate crisis and US Energy policy; I am writing to encourage you to vote NO on Trump's two new nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC.

President Trump's initiatives to promote fossil fuels and prevent the development of American made renewable energy will unquestionably affect the health and well-being of Americans living near fossil fuel projects and infrastructure, jeopardize international efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change and increase costs for utility ratepayers.

One of the federal agencies which could either mitigate or accelerate Trump's plans is FERC. Commissioner and former chair Willie Phillips, a Democrat, was pressured to resign with a year to go on his term. The former FERC Chair Mark Christie, a highly-experienced Republican whose term has expired, is not being renominated. Instead, the Trump administration has nominated Laura Swett and David LaCerte to replace them.

Who is Laura Swett? A June 3rd article in Energy Wire reported:

“Swett has a cumulative six years working at FERC, first as an enforcement investigator and later as an adviser to Bernard McNamee. McNamee’s section of the Project 2025 report laid out an energy strategy for the second Trump administration. Under it, commissioners would be barred from favoring carbon-free power or justifying costs for ‘advancing vague ‘societal benefits’ such as climate change.’ It called for an end to long-range grid planning, leaving it to states. And it called on FERC to focus exclusively on electric reliability by remaking the way markets price electricity, revaluing coal, gas and nuclear power so they compete with cheaper sources of wind and solar power.”

When Swett was not working at FERC she has been a lawyer at Vinson & Elkins, representing fossil fuel companies before FERC on a range of issues. She is in no way a neutral arbiter when it comes to energy issues, which conflicts with the Natural Gas Act which mandates that FERC decision-making must be “fuel neutral” and “non-discriminatory.”

David LaCerte, is currently working as an official in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where he has participated in the illegal and unconstitutional mass firing of federal workers, the withholding of funds legally appropriated by Congress, and a variety of other policy violence. He was previously the Louisiana Veterans Affairs Secretary, until he was accused by state investigators of mismanaging the agency and embellishing his own military service credentials. He resigned under a cloud of scandal and later tried to sue (unsuccessfully, so far) his accusers.

LaCerte worked in the first Trump administration, and like Swett contributed to Project 2025. In between, LaCerte was a special counsel at the Baker Botts law firm for two years, where he worked on energy litigation and environmental, safety and incident response issues.

The Senate ENR committee approved both candidates 8-12, but Democrats unanimously voted against Swett and LaCerte. We ask that you likewise reject these FERC nominees. Our disrupted climate and ecosystems, polluted environmental justice communities, and ratepayers everywhere need a just and reasonable national grid regulator. These nominees are not acceptable, reasonable, or fair-minded nominees. They will use, and possibly abuse, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to benefit fossil fuel corporations, drive up rates for consumers, and deepen the climate crisis that affects us all.

I urge you to vote “no” on both Swett's and LaCerte's nomination - and to share your concerns and opposition with other Senators.

Sincerely,