Fleischmann in 2023. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's new caucus to carry out the Trump White House's call to expand energy is finding a receptive audience — among Democrats.
Why it matters: The makeup of the American Energy Dominance Caucus — with 10 Democrats joining six Republicans, at last tally — reflects a potentially rare bipartisan path forward for energy policy.
- The forum could help deliver crucial Democratic votes that get GOP energy priorities across the finish line — including a permitting overhaul, caucus members said.
Between the lines: Despite the Trumpian name, the caucus will let Democrats work across the aisle on issues that are important to them, said Edward Do, a spokesman for lead caucus Democrat Marc Veasey of Texas.
The big picture: Fleischmann, long a champion of nuclear power, wants the caucus to be as inclusive as possible to meet rising electricity demand.
- "I thought I would have 3-to-1 Republicans," Fleischmann told Axios outside the House chamber.
- The goal is to arrive at "substantive answers for Republicans and Democrats who are interested in this.… It's not like 'Well, we're going to get back with you.' It's like 'No, let's address this.'"
- Fleischmann said long-distance transmission lines — a partisan issue that's contributed to derailing permitting proposals — is "going to be part of that."
What they're saying: Many of the Democrats represent competitive districts where oil and gas is a booming industry alongside wind and solar.
- "Approaching energy, we gotta find a balance — sometimes people are always 'One or the other. No fossil fuel, none of that,'" Texas' Henry Cuellar said. "And I think we can have all of the above."
- Cuellar led a successful effort to repeal the U.S. crude oil export ban in 2015 and was one of four House Democrats to vote for a Republican-led rollback of IRA credits in 2023.
- Democratic votes could help pass permitting reform legislation that are largely excluded from budget reconciliation rules, he added: "The more input they get from some of us Democrats that are supportive of energy, I think the better it is."
Other caucus Democrats are Texas' Vicente Gonzalez; New York's Daniel Goldman; Minnesota's Angie Craig; Georgia's Sanford Bishop; New Jersey's Donald Norcross; Michigan's Hillary Scholten; California's Lou Correa; and Louisiana's Troy Carter.
Fleischmann, the top House energy and water appropriator, said he's "not unduly" concerned about Trump's funding freeze, which Democrats of all stripes have blasted.
- In addition to Congress' authority to authorize spending, he said, "the executive branch also has a role, not only in the budget, but to fulfill its duties."
