By Michael Brooks

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 52-40 to confirm FERC General Counsel James Danly as a commissioner.

Three Democrats joined the Republican majority: Doug Jones (Ala.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.). Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday filed a motion to invoke cloture on Danly’s nomination, which the Senate approved 54-40 Thursday morning.

Danly fills a seat left open by the death of Commissioner Kevin McIntyre in January 2019; his term will conclude June 30, 2023. His confirmation has been a matter of when, not if, since the Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced his nomination, along with that of Dan Brouillette as energy secretary, to the floor in November. The Senate quickly confirmed Brouillette but did not get to Danly before it adjourned for the year. The ENR Committee re-advanced Danly on March 3. (See Danly Re-advances, but not Without Drama.)

Manchin, the ranking member of the committee, said prior to the confirmation vote that he was supporting Danly “because I believe he is well qualified for the job” and “he understands the complex legal issues that come before the commission.” But he lambasted President Trump for not nominating the Democrats’ choice — Allison Clements, clean energy markets program director for the Energy Foundation — to fill the seat left open by the departure of Cheryl LaFleur in August. Danly’s confirmation gives Republicans a 3-1 majority on the commission.

“The politics involved in this town is outrageous, truly outrageous, that even proper decorum, simple civility, just a little bit of procedure is not even considered any more,” Manchin said, adding that the administration was undermining “the bipartisan structure of the commission.”

He repeated a promise he made March 3 to oppose any Republican nominee to replace Commissioner Bernard McNamee, who has said he would not seek another term, unless they are paired with Clements. “I will not support another nominee unless we get both. This has got to stop. … Let’s make sure that we have a complete, working commission, and not just a partial commission that’s over-weighted.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor that the White House has “given no reason or explanation why” Clements has not been nominated.

After the vote, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee said, “This is great news for FERC and for the country. I have appreciated getting to know and work with James as my general counsel, where he’s already proven to be an invaluable asset to the commission. James has an exceptional ability to carefully and thoughtfully consider the legal and regulatory questions raised by matters before us, and I look forward to working alongside him as a fellow commissioner.”

American Council on Renewable Energy CEO Gregory Wetstone also congratulated Danly but asked “the president to nominate, and the Senate to confirm, two more commissioners on a bipartisan basis to fill the remaining commission vacancies.”

McNamee’s term ends June 30, but he has said that if no replacement has been confirmed, he will stay on past that date until he is replaced or the end of the year, whichever comes first.