Beaman Back in Consideration for TVA Board

President Donald Trump revived Lee Beaman’s nomination to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors last week as part of a long personnel list sent from the White House to the U.S. Senate. Republican senators previously abandoned Beaman, a wealthy Nashville car dealer and GOP megadonor, after a contentious Dec. 3 hearing before a Senate committee.  

Questions from Republicans and Democrats revealed the Nashville businessman’s financial connections to GOP congressmen, including Tennessee's embattled Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and House Speaker Mike Johnson, both of whom have lived in a Washington, D.C., property owned by Beaman. Beaman’s lack of experience or knowledge about energy production also struck the committee, which approved all four fellow nominees to the TVA board. These additions have restored the board’s quorum at the public utility, which oversees power generation and distribution across seven states. 

Senate Drops Lee Beaman From TVA Board Vote

Republicans abandon Nashville businessman as D.C. adjourns for the holidays

The renewed nomination now sits in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the same body that vetted Beaman before letting his nomination die without a final vote last month. Chamber rules dictate that inaction through the end of the year causes a nomination to lapse. Beaman, who amassed a fortune with a Middle Tennessee Toyota dealership and soft drink distribution business, has been a top GOP donor for more than a decade. His political contributions total more than $1.5 million to GOP candidates and committees since 2020, including $250,000 to the Republican National Committee last calendar year and more than $200,000 to sitting Republican senators. 

At last month's committee hearing, Tennessee's U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty both spoke in support of Beaman’s nomination to chamber colleagues, praising his character and business experience. Republicans control the Senate, its calendar and all its committees, making Beaman’s once-failed nomination a decision by the party. Trump’s decision to revive Beaman’s nomination indicates that the president and his party might disagree on Beaman’s qualifications.

In a written questionnaire returned by Beaman and reviewed by the Scene, the businessman told senators that he was improperly named as Ogles’ campaign treasurer during a period of alleged self-loans by Ogles’ campaign that has drawn scrutiny from the Federal Election Commission. The same document confirms that Beaman rents his D.C. townhome to members of Congress via an evangelical Christian nonprofit — Ambassador Services International — run by Franklin pastor Steve Berger.