President Donald Trump on Tuesday renominated Lee Beaman to serve on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Valley Authority, renewing the appointment after a U.S. Senate committee declined to advance his nomination to a full vote on January 3.
Submitted in a list of 66 nominations, Trump once submitted Beaman to serve the TVA for a term expiring in May 2030. The board gained the vacancy following the retirement of Joe Rich, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022.
Because Beaman’s nomination did not go to a vote, it is unclear which members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works blocked it from advancing.
The committee is chaired by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and the other Republican members include Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Curtis (R-UT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Pete Rickets (R-NE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and John Boozman (R-AR).
Prominent Democrats also staff the committee, including U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Beaman was originally nominated by Trump to serve on the TVA board last June, and credited Tennessee-based musical artist Bob Ritchie, who performs as Kid Rock, for capturing the president’s attention.
“I called Bob Ritchie and he said, ‘Sure, I’ll call him right now,’” Beaman recalled in an interview with the Nashville Business Journal last year. “Twenty minutes later, he called me back and said, ‘I just talked with him, and you’re in!’”
He added, “When I got a call from the White House, the lady said, ‘I have to admit, you have the most impressive list of recommendations.'”
Beaman told the outlet that his wife, former Tennessee state official Julie Hannah, originally suggested he should consider the TVA board position.
His nomination followed a series of firings, resignations, and shakeups at the TVA under the Trump administration that occurred shortly after U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) called for the provider to embrace nuclear energy amid increased demands for artificial intelligence (AI).
The U.S. Senate had only confirmed enough new members of TVA board constitute a quorum on Monday.
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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].
