Hearings to examine the nominations of Lanny Erdos, of Ohio, to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and Audrey Robertson, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Secretary (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), Timothy John Walsh, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Secretary (Environmental Management), and David Eisner, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary, all of the Department of Energy.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
2025-07-09
Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
I also want to thank Senator Heinrich and his staff for working with us on the schedule for today's activities and to thank all senators in advance for their participation. Today we'll be holding our eighth hearing on nominations to serve in this administration and post under this committee's jurisdiction. And we'll hear testimony from four nominees for important positions in the government. I thank President Trump for sending us these nominees. They are, at the Department of Energy, David Eisner, to be the Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs. Timothy Walsh, to be the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management. Audrey Robertson, to be the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. I think the name of the game at the Department of Energy is to use the word energy as many times in each title as they possibly can.
And then at the Department of Interior, We have Lani Erdos to be the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. We now meet these highly qualified nominees and allow them each to give an opening statement and to introduce their family and friends. I'll go over a brief introduction of each of them. First, our first witness today will be David Eisner to be Assistant Secretary of Energy and International Affairs at the Department of Energy, the Office of International Affairs, or IA, is the primary coordinator for international implementation of the department's programs, including bilateral meetings with foreign energy leaders and programs. IA works to advance America's economic and energy goals and also to counter malign influences that could threaten our nation's energy supply. The office leads dozens of bilateral and regional forums advocates for American energy priorities, and is the lead office for DOE's responsibilities as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. Mr. Eisner is an excellent choice to handle these duties. He currently serves as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, and in the first Trump administration was the Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Treasury, as well as serving as the Acting Treasurer of the United States. During his prior service at Treasury, Assistant Secretary Eisner helped develop the department's $13 billion budget, as well as engage in strategic planning, risk management, and leading implementation of various Treasury programs. He also provided internal oversight of all Treasury bureaus, including the IRS. In the private sector, Mr. Eisner has worked as an operating partner at Edison Partners in New York, chairman of KLX, Inc., and of K1X Inc. and is Chairman of the Board at Finality LTD. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Government from American University and earned his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law.
Next, we'll hear from Timothy Walsh to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management. Our colleague, Senator David McCormick, We'll introduce Mr. Walsh because they served in uniform together. But before he does so, I'll remark briefly on this position and on Mr. Walsh's impressive career. The Office of Environmental Management supports the Department of Energy to meet the challenges of the nation's Manhattan Project and Cold War legacy responsibilities. Established in 1989, it's responsible for the cleanup of radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel and materials, and disposing of transuranic and low-level waste and contaminated soil and water, and decommissioning excess facilities. This office oversees an annual budget of more than $8 billion. over 90% of which is contracted to industry. Mr. Walsh is the CEO of Confluence Companies. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and Ranger School. He served as an Army officer with the 237th Engineer Battalion in Heilbronn, Germany, and commanded a company in an engineer battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division. Deploying in support of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where he earned the Bronze Star for heroism. After his military service, Mr. Walsh earned an M.S. in civil engineering and construction and management from Stanford University. He then joined Rudolph & Slutton as a project manager in California and served as VP at Mortensen, overseeing projects exceeding $3.5 billion.
That's right, that's right. and then we'll go to Senator McCormick for his further introduction. Let's do that after we finish these and after we hear from Senator Heinrich. We'll recognize you then. Third, we'll hear testimony from Audrey Robertson to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, encompasses 11 technology offices in the department, focusing on issues including solar, wind, hydrogen, and geothermal. EERE's research agenda is centered on emerging geothermal and hydropower technologies, biofuels, and critical minerals. Securing domestic supply chains for critical minerals and components of energy technologies, strengthening America's industrial sector, and ensuring the reliability, security, and modernization of the electricity grid are all priorities of this office under the Trump administration. Ms. Robertson has been an active business entrepreneur in the oil and gas field since 2018, including serving as CFO and executive VP of Franklin Mountain Energy LLC, co-founder of an energy-focused private equity firm in Denver, and is managing partner of Copper Trail Partners LLC.
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