President Biden Announces Two Key Nominations

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following two individuals to serve in key roles:

• Brad Crabtree, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Department of Energy
• Tristan Leavitt, Nominee for Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board

Brad Crabtree, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Department of Energy

Brad Crabtree serves as Vice President for Carbon Management at the Great Plains Institute (GPI) and has nearly three decades experience in energy and climate policy. Crabtree oversees GPI’s carbon management portfolio; he helped launch the State Carbon Capture Work Group, a 16-state initiative first convened in 2015 to foster commercial deployment of carbon capture and CO₂ transport infrastructure. He also led efforts to establish the Industrial Innovation Initiative last year in partnership with the World Resources Institute, which brings together leading industrial companies, NGOs, unions and state officials from Midwestern and Gulf Coast states to advance policies aimed at decarbonizing key industries to achieve net-zero emissions.

Crabtree previously coordinated energy policy advisory groups for the Midwestern Governors Association and facilitated the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord Advisory Group for six governors and the Manitoba premier. He also co-directed Powering the Plains, GPI’s original flagship project that developed a comprehensive, 50-year regional blueprint for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and advanced coal technologies.  Crabtree has led multiple overseas delegations of U.S. policymakers and private sector leaders to learn firsthand about carbon management and renewable energy technologies and policy experience in other countries.

A North Dakota native, Brad is a graduate of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and has an MA in history from Johns Hopkins University.

Tristan Leavitt, Nominee for Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board

Tristan Leavitt is the general counsel of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board; in the absence of Senate-confirmed Board members, he has also led the agency since March 1, 2019 as its acting chief executive and administrative officer. Before that, he served for a year and a half at the Office of Special Counsel as the Principal Deputy Special Counsel, including time as Acting Special Counsel. Prior to serving in the executive branch, he worked for eight years on Capitol Hill conducting congressional investigations and handling various federal workforce policy issues. His time included service on the staff of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for Chairman Jason Chaffetz.

An Idaho native, he received his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He and his wife Brittany, a native of West Virginia, are the proud parents of five children.

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