The Department of Energy (DOE) will remain without a full-time general counsel for a while longer after a Senate rule that kicked in Wednesday automatically reset the confirmation process for the agency’s top lawyer.
President Donald Trump nominated David Jonas as DOE general counsel in May, but the choice drew flack from Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, including from Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). Cantwell is a fierce advocate for DOE’s Hanford Site in her home state: the largest legacy nuclear cleanup in both the nation and DOE’s portfolio.
In September, the committee easily mustered the votes to send Jonas’ nomination to the Senate floor for confirmation, despite “no” votes from nine Democrats including Cantwell. The ranking member cited unspecified “concerns” about the nominee. Subsequently, Jonas’ nomination languished on the Senate calendar throughout the winter holidays and into the new year.
Then on Wednesday, when the Senate gaveled in for the second session of the 115th Congress, Jonas’ nomination was automatically returned to the White House because Senate rules permit the chamber to vote only on nominations it received in the current session of Congress. One session lasts a year, with two sessions in each Congress. The 115th Congress began in January 2017.
Jonas’ was not among the many nominations from last session the Senate agreed to keep active into the current session. Among those allowed to stay on the docket are the White House’s choice to lead the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Lisa Gordon-Hagerty.
As for the general counsel job, President Donald Trump could now nominate Jonas again, or choose someone else to fill the position. At deadline Friday, the White House had not announced a new nominee.
So for now, there is no full-time DOE general counsel. Deputy General Counsel John Lucas was the acting general counsel through November, after which he had to step down because of federal time limits on interim agency managers.
The DOE general counsel reports to the Office of the Secretary of Energy. Among many other things, the position provides legal advice to the energy secretary, allowing the DOE chief to focus on policy implementation rather than legal concerns.
Jonas has some experience on the DOE nuclear beat, having previously served as general counsel for the NNSA: the semiautonomous DOE subagency in charge of nuclear warhead and science programs. Jonas was also previously the general counsel for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board: an independent federal health and safety watchdog for defense nuclear sites.
