Will Phillips’ exit politicize FERC?

But Devin Hartman, the director of energy and environmental policy at R Street Institute, a right-leaning think tank dedicated to free markets and minimal government intervention, said the White House appears to be treading cautiously with FERC — and the administration does not necessarily want to overturn the dynamics of the commission.

“There is an appreciation in the White House that FERC is complex and is integral to their achievement of reducing energy costs and boosting reliability — and it necessarily will have to come through very technocratic improvements,” he said.

“The DOGE sledge hammer is clearly not the appropriate vehicle to get that done,” Hartman added. “And I think there’s more thought given to FERC’s direction than what you’ve seen with other agencies broadly. That’s encouraging at this stage.”

Hartman added the names he’s heard floated for a potential replacement have FERC experience, are “coming from a very particular legal school of thought on the role of FERC” and are not overtly political. “So I do expect someone to come in that most likely has worked at FERC before,” he said.