The Real Barrier to Trump's Coal Bailout? His Own Appointees
- Trump orders Energy Secretary to stem coal, nuke retirements
- FERC commissioners may have options to slow or block plan
Photographer: Bloomberg /Bloomberg
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A sweeping Trump administration plan to prop up ailing coal and nuclear plants has one big problem: The president’s own appointees could stand in his way.
The members of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, most of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump, have already thwarted one effort to bail out uneconomic power plants, killing a 2017 directive by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that sought to keep struggling facilities in business. Now, Trump has directed Perry to take "immediate steps" to stop coal and nuclear retirements -- but the latest plan, like the last, may be at the mercy of the commission’s five members.