NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of a former Tennessee House speaker to the board of directors of the nation’s largest public utility.
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander praised the Senate's confirmation of Beth Harwell to the Tennessee Valley Authority board. President Donald Trump nominated Harwell in January.
The longtime Nashville Republican lawmaker was elected speaker in 2011. She left the role and the Legislature in her unsuccessful 2018 bid for governor.
Since leaving office, Harwell also has been hired as a visiting professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University. The Tennessee Valley Authority serves almost 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states.
