Joshua Siegel

Energy Congress reporter @politico. Co-host POLITICO Energy podcast. Writer, reader, kabob eater. Chi sports fan. Tennis hack. [email protected]

[POLITICO @politico]

Power grid guru Peter Lake to leave Trump’s Energy Dominance Council https://t.co/pRioYfCP07

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

A White House official tells me "no decision has been made at this time" on a replacement for Lake, but "NEDC is evaluating several interested candidates from within the administration"

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

NEW: Grid guru Peter Lake to leave Trump’s Energy Dominance Council. He was involved with key parts of the White House's energy and artificial intelligence dominance agenda. W/ @kelseytam https://t.co/hxrze4jirD

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

But Capito argued Trump agencies have "lightened up" at least on solar, even as they keep targeting wind, a top Whitehouse concern. "We all have different things that are hot points. So, we're just going to work through it and see if we can find a compromise,” she told me

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

NEW: EPW ranker Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse tells me Trump agencies have "been seemingly going out of its way to make success on permitting reform unlikely." He says he currently wouldn't be able to sell Dems on any deal w/Aug recess target just 2 weeks away https://t.co/a6aVbjUtLg

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito, a top R negotiator, admitted time is not on the negotiators’ side, even as she told me yesterday she's “not ready to have that conversation” on whether their August recess target is unattainable. "We're running out of time,” she said

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

@SenKevinCramer Cramer said the bipartisan pushback shows need to impose reg certainty in a permitting bill. “There’s no question there's a coming together of the parties here. We can’t build anything. I don’t care what it is,” he told me. “So, let’s figure it out. It kind of gave me hope again"

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

Fun lil anecdote in ME. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told me during a classified briefing Tues on the admin's Iran War funding request he pressed top Pentagon officials to end their blockade on wind project permits, backing up EPW ranker Sheldon Whitehouse, who was asking about it

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

“I said, ‘Can I just tell you, I want to support what Sheldon is saying. You guys, the president’s got to get over this.’” @SenKevinCramer recounted. “More than anything, I wanted Sheldon to know I’m in solidarity with him.” The issue is a main barrier in permitting reform talks

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

@wmataGM Your service the last few weeks has gone backwards

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

Coe confirmed his departure in an interview with @HMNorthey, citing his desire to be with family in North Carolina. His last day is July 31

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

Scoop: Carl Coe out as DOE chief of staff to Secretary Chris Wright. Coe will be replaced by Charlie Dankert, DOE’s deputy chief of staff for policy who was top Interior budget official before that. w/@HMNorthey https://t.co/SOfoejD94c

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

More background here on how NHPA works, and why it’s become a surprise new sticking point in permitting talks https://t.co/XdeYpTrAVb

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

NEW: Permitting talks are facing another hurdle, this time because of a Trump proposal to ease requirements under a historical site protection law. Top negotiator Sen. Martin Heinrich told me pending action to weaken NHPA is “not helpful in negotiations" https://t.co/paqu10fg7a

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

But Chair Lee is continuing his push for a NHPA overhaul, telling me: “I remain committed to working with my Democrat colleagues in good faith to get America building again, but meaningful permitting reform cannot leave Section 106 [of the law] off the table.”

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) is likely to remain top R on Foreign Relations. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is not running for reelection. And Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is likely to prefer to stay leading R on the Intelligence Committee, a person familiar with his thinking told me

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

SCOOP-y report this am: Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) eyes Energy and Natural Resources gavel. The freshman is interested in leading Republicans on the committee next Congress, and is in line to do it due to a domino effect after Lindsey Graham's death https://t.co/XTifUl6552

[Joshua Siegel @SiegelScribe]

Here's how it would play out: Current ENR Chair Mike Lee is eying a move to chair the Judiciary Committee, should Rs keep the Senate. There are Republicans with more seniority than McCormick on ENR, but they are not eligible or unlikely to pursue the top spot for various reasons