Refusal to suspend diversity trainings was a factor in his ouster, says Neil Chatterjee.
Neil Chatterjee, former Indian American chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has suggested that his refusal to implement President Donald Trump’s September order to suspend diversity trainings was a factor in his ouster.
Chatterjee, who had recently signaled support for carbon pricing in electricity markets, a move that would be damaging for coal, has also alluded that he was proud to have taken recent stances that may have irked the White House, according to the Hill.
“It’s been a difficult few days. I have dedicated almost the entirety of my professional career to public service,” he was quoted as saying in an early Saturday Facebook post.
“I am a deeply flawed person. I know for certain I have not always made the right decision. But I can honestly say that I tried to get it right to the best of my limited abilities,” Chatterjee wrote.
“My entire family has sacrificed a great deal so that I could have the opportunity to serve my country. I don’t give a f@&! what people think of me. I will be judged by my grandchildren.”
“And as of this moment I am confident that I will be able to look them in the eyes when they ask me where I stood on the most significant issues of this time and be proud. This is not the last you will hear from me. Not even close. Onward,” he added.
Chatterjee, according to the Hill, has been vocal in speaking out against police brutality, condemning events in Georgia and Minnesota calling them “as devastating as they are unjust.”
Chatterjee, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has also created a Facebook group titled “Hypothetical: Draft Neil Chatterjee for Virginia Governor 2021.”
Some Democrats have condemned Chatterjee’s demotion, particularly as the typically-five member panel has dwindled to three members.
“This is an outrageous attack on an independent agency at a time of transition,” House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone wrote in a statement Friday, arguing it was “as petty as it is wrong.”