Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
12/12/2014
With Congress set to soon go out of session, the Department of Energy remains without a confirmed Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy. Christopher Smith, who currently holds the title of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, the number two position at FE, was nominated to fill the Assistant Secretary position in September 2013. He has been serving as acting Assistant Secretary since February 2013 following the resignation of former FE Assistant Secretary Chuck McConnell. He was renominated in January 2014 because his initial nomination was not confirmed by the Senate by the close of 2013. Smith finds himself in a similar situation this year as his confirmation remains pending on the executive calendar.
Prior to serving in his current capacity, Smith had served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas since 2009. If Smith is not confirmed by the end of this congress, he will have to be renominated again in 2015 at which time he’ll face a Republican congress. A total of 144 nominations were pending on the executive calendar as of Dec. 11. A representative from the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was not available for comment.
