President Trump has been vetting candidates to fill key Republican spots for a top federal energy watchdog agency that will be key to meeting his infrastructure goals, although it is not clear how much of a priority it is for him or whether his picks would strike the right balance between states’ and the federal government’s priorities.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was forced to effectively shut down after former Chairman Norman Bay, an Obama appointee, resigned abruptly, leaving the agency without a necessary three-person quorum to carry out its tasks.