Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board appointed by President Donald Trump now hold a comfortable majority following the departure of former Chair Bill Renick, who was announced in a Monday notice to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Renick was originally nominated to the TVA board by former President Joe Biden in 2022, with the native Kentuckian reportedly recommended for the position by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who supported Renick during the confirmation process in the Senate.
“Wade’s heart has always been in serving his home state and his unique perspective will bring balance to the organization and its priorities,” stated McConnell in a press release after Renick’s confirmation in December 2022.
A resident of Mississippi at the time, Renick told Mississippi Today after his nomination, “TVA is such a major player in Mississippi, not just in electricity, but also in economic development, workforce training and education.”
According to the notice provided to the SEC, Renick left the TVA board on February 24. The remaining board members appointed by Biden are Bobby Klein and Wade White, who, like Renick, were also confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2022.
Trump has nominated five members to the TVA board since his return to the White House in January 2025, and the U.S. Senate confirmed Art Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, and Randy Jones last December.
Only Lee Beaman, the Tennessee businessman and Republican donor, did not receive his confirmation in December, though Trump renominated him to serve on the TVA board in early January.
Following urging from U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), TVA has approved multiple new nuclear projects under the Trump administration, and recently modified its stance on energy sources to again include clean coal.
Despite the number of board members appointed under Trump, the federally owned utility remains controversial among some conservative Tennesseans, including those who successfully appealed to the White House to stop the construction of a power plant at a controversial site in Cheatham County.
Among those who opposed the plant was musician and pundit John Rich, who revealed last month that he had been invited to join the TVA board and lead a task force but declined, preferring to remain an external advocate for property owners.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “TVA Building” by Tennessee Valley Authority. CC BY 2.0.
