Vote on Nominations of Audrey Robertson (EERE) and Tim Walsh (EM) to be Assistant Secretaries of Energy, and Lanny Erdos to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
366 Dirksen

07/30/2025 at 09:30AM

Full committee business meeting.

Nominees:

  • Lanny Erdos, of Ohio, to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
  • 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), both of the Department of Energy.

The nomination hearing was held on July 9. David Eisner withdrew his nomination to be Department of Energy Assistant Secretary of International Affairs.

Audrey Robinson is an oil executive who “helped found Denver-based Franklin Mountain Energy, a since-sold natural gas fracking firm in the Permian Basin with an open investigation at EPA over recent Clean Air Act violations.” She “also sits on the board of Liberty Energy, the fracking services company led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright until his resignation in January. Earlier in her career, Robertson worked at Goldman Sachs and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, an investment firm focused on fossil fuels.”

Tim Walsh is a Colorado real estate developer who “has donated over $2.5 million to Republican candidates and conservative causes since 2022.”

All nominees were backed 11-9, Justice voting aye by proxy, all Democrats opposed.