JAMES JOINS E&C: The Energy and Commerce Committee added a new member to its ranks yesterday: freshman Rep. John James, a Michigan Republican.
The House GOP Steering Committee – which is in charge of assigning lawmakers to committees – met yesterday to fill in the seat of former Rep. Bill Johnson, who retired from Congress in January. James’s ascension to the wide-ranging and powerful committee marks a rare occurrence of a freshman being assigned to the competitive panel seat – and he beat out a number of members of his class to get the spot.
“I think he’s going to be a strong member of the Energy and Commerce Committee,” E&C Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers told reporters as she was coming out of the Steering meeting. “From a district perspective, one of his priorities is American manufacturing, American energy independence. He’s wanted to be on Energy and Commerce since Day One, and he brings a lot of experience and passion to the issues.”
How these meetings work: Much of what goes on during these meetings are kept under tight wraps. Members of the Steering Committee vote in secret ballots for who they believe should be on the panel. However, GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, the committee’s speaker-designee, said that the vote “was not close.”
We couldn’t grab James for comment following the committee vote, but he was seen on the House floor being congratulated by a number of members.
A non-exhaustive list of who James beat out: At least three other members were jockeying for the spot: Freshman Reps. Brandon Williams, Russell Fry, and Nick Langworthy.
A little about James: James, who hails from an automotive district in the Detroit area, emphasized in his pitch to the E&C committee the importance of filling Johnson’s seat with another Midwesterner (Johnson represented an Ohio district) to ensure that the region’s interests were not forgotten. E&C has only a handful of Midwestern members.
Before coming to Congress, James was a West Point graduate, and the president and CEO of global supply chain management service James Group – a business where his father was previously the CEO.
James has pushed back on the Biden administration’s plan to expand the use of electric vehicles, signing onto a letter that blasted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s proposed fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light duty trucks. He also added an amendment to Republicans’ marquee energy bill, H.R. 1, that would direct the government to identify a strategy to bolster production of critical minerals. He has also introduced a bill that would specifically require the U.S. to create a national strategy to secure critical minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Plus: He’s a prolific fundraiser. According to a palm card he handed to members while jockeying for the seat, he raised nearly $1 million for House Republicans in 2022, and over $850,000 in 2023. Since then, James has given an additional $300,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee — increasing his fundraising totals to roughly $1.1 million this cycle.
But: It’s not to say that members who didn’t make the cut won’t get onto the panel in the future. More than 10 members on the committee have announced they would be retiring at the end of the term or will be pursuing higher office. That will open up a number of highly-sought after seats – and expect to see some of the same names in the next Congress. Taylor Weyeneth, Williams’ spokesperson, confirmed to the Washington Examiner the New York Republican will “1000%” try for the committee at the beginning of the next session.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writers Breanne Deppisch (@breannue_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email bdeppisch@washingtonexaminer dot com or nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
SOUTH AFRICA LACKS WILL TO FIX ITS ENERGY CRISIS, ADEYEMO SAYS, AS BLACKOUTS WORSEN: Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo called on South Africa to crack down on government corruption during a speech in Johannesburg, arguing that the country’s ongoing blackouts and energy supply crisis are the result of a lack of “political will.”
“Investments alone cannot unlock the potential of your economy,” Adeyemo said today, on his third stop during a week-long tour of the country. “Keeping the lights on is not a question of capacity, it is a question of political will to make the decisions necessary to modernize the grid and enable new generation sources to come online,” he added.
Bigger picture: Bloomberg reports that Treasury officials have expressed frustration at South Africa’s refusal to take advantage of $2.5 billion in cheap loans provided through the Just Energy Transition Partnership, which has been opposed by some politicians and local coal unions due to its focus on renewables. Ties have been strained further in recent months due to divergent views on Russia’s invasion, Israel’s offensive in Gaza, and the level of political corruption that continues to mire Africa’s most industrialized economy.
Still, Adeyemo stressed that the U.S. stands ready to support South Africa and the development of a clean energy supply chain, urging leaders to capitalize on their abundance of rare earth minerals that could help attract new mining investments and bolster reliable sources of clean energy.
“Allowing for more renewable energy development is a sustainable and cost-effective means of helping to end the electricity crisis,” he said. Read more on his visit here.
OPEC PRAISES IEA’S NOD TO OIL SECURITY CONCERNS IN RARE MOMENT OF CONSENSUS: OPEC said today it was “encouraged” by new commentary from the International Energy Agency that stressed the importance of oil security, marking a rare moment of consensus between the two bodies, whose relations have been strained in recent years by diverging views on fossil fuels and forecasts for how quickly the world can reduce its dependence on oil.
In a statement, OPEC said the group of oil-producing nations is “encouraged by this message and the reference to the continuing importance of oil to the world,” though it notably faulted the Paris-based IEA for calling for no new oil and gas investments.
The response came two days after the IEA stressed in its most recent report that there is a high degree of uncertainty around how quickly the world can transition away from oil, citing concerns of a supply-demand imbalance.
“While the world’s dependence on oil is lessening, it remains deep-rooted, so supply disruptions can still cause significant economic harm and have a substantial negative impact on people’s lives,” the report said. Read more on that here.
U.S. POWER DEMAND SET FOR RECORDS IN 2024 AND 2025 AS MIX CHANGES: U.S. power consumption is slated to soar to record-highs in both 2024 and 2025, the Energy Information Administration said in its new Short-Term Energy Outlook — though it predicts the share of renewables in the power mix to increase amid a broader transition away from fossil fuels such as coal.
In its report, the EIA forecasts U.S. consumption will reach a record-high of 4,099 billion kilowatt-hours, or kWh, in 2024 and a slightly higher 4.128 billion kWh in 2025. (Both would overtake the previous record of 4,003 billion kWh set in 2018.)
Slight declines for coal and natural gas: Meanwhile, fossil fuels will play a slightly smaller role. The report predicts coal consumption will make up just 15% of U.S. power generation this year—down from 17% in 2023—before dropping to 14% in 2025. Natural gas is expected to stay the same in 2024 at 42% before dropping to 41% in 2025.
Power from renewables will also account for a growing share of the energy mix, per the EIA, rising from 21% last year to an expected 24% in 2024 and 25% in 2025. Nuclear power generation, meanwhile, will stay the same. Read the report in full here.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DETAILS PLAN FOR ELECTRIC FREIGHT TRUCK CHARGING: The Biden administration released a blueprint yesterday to guide the build-out of electric freight truck charging stations and hydrogen fueling stations.
The National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy was published by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation with the aim of amplifying private-sector investment and guiding the infusion of federal dollars allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Critically, it includes the development of two national EV freight corridors—a joint effort it is coordinating with the Federal Highway Administration.
“These new [corridor] designations and Strategy will help to grow our national EV charging network, encourage clean commerce within the freight community, and support President [Joe] Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a statement, according to E&E News.
The blueprint comes as the Biden administration looks to deliver on its goal of reaching 30% sales for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (ZEMHDVs) by the end of the decade, and 100% ZEMHDV sales by 2040. Read the full roadmap here.
RUNDOWN
E&E News Whitehouse, Romney spar over Budget panel’s climate focus
Bloomberg How a physics whiz made a killing betting on nature’s catastrophe
CNN NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will carry its own ‘golden record’ to Jupiter’s icy ocean moon
This newsletter has been updated to correct the number of members who were seeking the Energy and Commerce Committee seat and add more detail about Rep. John James’s fundraising.
