Trump nominates two for top DOE jobs

On 11 July President Trump announced his picks for two key undersecretary positions at the Department of Energy.

Paul Dabbar has been nominated as undersecretary for science. He will be responsible for the basic research programs of the Office of Science and for the department’s applied programs in fossil energy, nuclear energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and electricity delivery and energy reliability. Dabbar is the managing director for mergers and acquisitions at JP Morgan. He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and holds an MBA from Columbia University.

According to a White House release , Dabbar has more than $400 billion in energy investment experience, including in solar, wind, geothermal, distributed electricity generation, oil and gas, and pipelines. A former nuclear submarine officer, he has conducted environmental research in the Arctic and worked as a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Mark Menezes has been nominated as undersecretary to oversee the Office of Environmental Management and overall DOE operations. Menezes is vice president of federal relations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a utility holding company with major renewable energy assets. He is a former chief counsel for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Nearly six months into his term, Trump has yet to nominate individuals to fill any of the six assistant secretary positions that are authorized at DOE, including director of the Office of Science. Frank Klotz, an Obama administration holdover, continues to serve as administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and DOE undersecretary for nuclear security. All undersecretary and assistant secretary appointments require Senate confirmation.

Many key scientific and technical posts at other agencies, notably including the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also remain unfilled.