The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mark Christie, is set to be replaced when his term expires at the end of the month.

President Donald Trump has nominated Laura Swett, who currently serves as energy litigation counsel at the law firm Vinson & Elkins, as Christie’s replacement. Christie was nominated by Trump in 2020 and had previously spent 17 years on the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

In a LinkedIn post reacting to the news, Christie stated: “I just learned this evening from a media inquiry that Pres. Trump has appointed Laura Swett to replace me when my term expires June 30. I congratulate Laura and wish her the very best. I will remain on FERC for a few weeks following June 30 to enable FERC to get some very important orders out. Serving on FERC since 2020 has been an honor and privilege.”

Swett, an experienced legal professional, previously spent five years at FERC, from 2014 to 2019, across a range of senior legal and policy advisory positions. Swett’s appointment is dependent on Senate confirmation, which is expected to be a formality in the Republican controlled Senate. If approved, her term would end in June 2030.

FERC is comprised of up to five commissioners directly appointed by the US President. The commissioners serve five-year staggered terms. The agency acts as the regulatory authority for all interstate transmission, as well as the wholesale electricity and natural gas markets.

Swett will join David Rosner (Democrat), Lindsay See (Republican), and Judy Chang (Democrat) on the commission. The final seat at the commission remains vacant following the departure of Willie Phillips, who was asked to step down from his role as commissioner in April.

The change comes as the issue of data center colocation rears its head again. In April, the commission upheld its decision to block a revised Interconnection Service Agreement that would have increased power usage at an Amazon Web Services data center colocated next to the Talen Energy-operated Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

However, given the current administration's declaration of an energy emergency at the start of the year, as a means to approve new power stations for AI data centers, there is a possibility that FERC could revisit this issue and support future collocation agreements.