Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is blaming the “deep state” for the administration’s failure to get a federal energy board to authorize subsidies for coal and nuclear power plants.
Lewandowski said the Monday decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows the “deep state is very real.”
The deep state is very real. More government officials who don’t support the Trump agenda. https://t.co/dWWvyPBFyp
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) January 9, 2018
However, four of five of FERC’s sitting commissioners were appointed by President Donald Trump last year. A Trump-controlled commission did not agree to an Energy Department proposal to compensate power plants for keeping 90-days worth of fuel onsite.
Though, the decision did pit entrenched interests against one another. The oil and gas lobby teamed up with environmentalists and green energy companies to actively oppose the Trump administration’s proposal.
On the other side, labor unions and the coal industry supported the plan. Energy Secretary Rick Perry asked FERC in September to propose the rule to improve the “resilience” of the electric grid.
“I appreciate the Commission’s consideration and effort to further assess the marketplace distortions that are putting the long-term resiliency of our electric grid at risk,” Perry said in a statement on FERC’s decision.
While it’s a setback for the Trump administration, FERC did ask regional grid operators to report back to the commission on resiliency, signaling the debate on this topic may be far from over.
Conservative groups tended to oppose the Energy Department proposal, but argued something needed to be done to make sure baseload power sources are properly compensated.
FERC says NOPe to NOPR. https://t.co/GcKrx3omjU pic.twitter.com/eVoefDIcUt
— Tom Pyle (@TomJPyle) January 9, 2018
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