The White House has nominated David LaCerte to be a FERC commissioner for the remainder of the term expiring June 30, 2026. The position became open when Willie Phillips resigned April 22.
LaCerte is the principal White House liaison and a senior adviser to the director of the Office of Personnel Management. Before joining the Trump administration, he was an attorney at Baker Botts. He was among hundreds of contributors to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a road map for advancing conservative principles.
LaCerte served in the Marine Corps and is a graduate of Nicholls State University and Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He fought criticism of his time at the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, which was marred by controversy. He also served with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
According to his LinkedIn profile, LaCerte doesn’t have the typical energy regulatory background of most FERC nominees. But in his last two years at Baker Botts, he specialized in “Energy Litigation/Environmental, Safety, Incident Response (ESIR).” (See his full resume.)
In June, the White House nominated Laura Swett to replace Chair Mark Christie, whose term is expiring. (See Trump Replacing FERC Chair Christie with Laura Swett.) If the nominations of Swett and LaCerte are confirmed by the Senate, FERC would have a Republican majority of commissioners.
Politico first reported LaCerte’s pending nomination July 15. Reaction was swift to the official nomination July 17.
Advanced Energy United issued the following statement from Managing Director Caitlin Marquis:
“As LaCerte goes through the confirmation process, we hope senators focus on the importance of competition, innovation and regulatory certainty when making their decision. Maintaining FERC’s mission of ensuring a reliable, safe, secure and economically efficient energy system requires an independent body able to set appropriate regulatory market rules that promote confidence in the system and investment from energy resource providers.”
Americans for a Clean Energy Grid Executive Director Christina Hayes congratulated LaCerte on the nomination. “As a bipartisan coalition of transmission policy advocates, we look forward to engaging with LaCerte as he approaches important issues before the commission related to transmission’s role in the American energy dominance agenda through a reliable, affordable and resilient energy grid.”
The White House also nominated Arthur Graham, a commissioner on the Florida Public Service Commission, to be on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority for the remainder of the term expiring May 18, 2026. Graham is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and served on the Jacksonville City Council.
