Twinkle Cavanaugh leaves Public Service Commission for Trump administration job
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh will step down as president of Alabama's Public Service Commission to take a role in President Donald Trump's administration, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cavanaugh will serve as the state director of rural development in Alabama.
According to the press release, Cavanaugh will 'affirm the mission of the Trump Administration by focusing on finding ways to empower rural America and unleash economic prosperity.'
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A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kay Ivey, who is responsible for appointing the interim president. According to al.com, Maiola said the governor will appoint someone 'in the coming days.'
Cavanaugh, a former chair of the Alabama Republican Party, was first elected to the Public Service Commission in 2010. In 2012, she was elected president of the commission, defeating Lucy Baxley, who at the time was the last Democrat holding statewide office in Alabama.
The Public Service Commission is the state's utility regulator, though critics have long accused it of being passive toward the companies it oversees. The PSC since 1982 has operated under a system that guarantees utilities a profit, a process different from a formal rate hearing, where an entity must justify any rate increases.
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