Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday endorsed his senior energy adviser, Neil Chatterjee, to join the nation’s energy watchdog, saying his record persuading Democratic stalwart Sen. Barbara Boxer on difficult legislative issues would benefit the agency greatly.
“We call Neil ‘the Boxer whisperer’ in my office. It’s a term of endearment, I assure you,” said the Kentucky Republican in introducing Chatterjee at a confirmation hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Chatterjee was nominated by President Trump to serve as commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent agency made up equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats that oversees the nation’s electricity markets and natural gas infrastructure.
Chatterjee’s appointment is even more pressing because the commission currently lacks the members to continue working and has been shut down for months. The agency is seen by the energy industry as key to achieving Trump’s energy and infrastructure goals.
Chatterjee has a “real gift for forging relationships, sometimes with Republicans, sometimes with Democrats,” but especially with Boxer, the former environmental stalwart from California, who retired last year.
McConnell said that ability would make Chatterjee a “great addition” to the FERC. “His work was key to forging alliances between Sen. Boxer, myself, some would argue a rather odd couple, and others that ultimately resulted in a bipartisan agreement on issues that once seemed completely intractable,” the majority leader said.
For example, Chatterjee helped move the most recent five-year reauthorization of the highway bill through to passage, McConnell noted. He also was integral in reaching consensus on the last year’s water and energy spending bill.
His experience in advancing major infrastructure bills would be “an asset” at the FERC, because of the agency’s focus on major infrastructure projects, he said.
Boxer thanked Chatterjee on the Senate floor for his help in gaining consensus, McConnell said. “I hope I don’t ruin his career by thanking him,” she said, according to the majority leader. “Well, I think the fact that we’re having this hearing today proves that Sen. Boxer didn’t ruin his career,” he said.
“He is, by every measure, exceptionally well-qualified for the position he’s been nominated for,” McConnel added. “It’s long past time to get FERC working again and the quorum it needs.”
