WASHINGTON — Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Jeff Lyash — the highest-paid federal worker with a compensation package deal of $10.5 million per 12 months — abruptly introduced Friday that he was retiring 11 days after the return to workplace of President Trump, who throughout his first time period slammed Lyash’s “ridiculous” pay and vowed to fireplace him.
“Seems like Lyash bought DOGE’d,” a senior administration official advised The Publish, referring to Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity initiative to rein in allegedly wasteful federal spending.
A TVA rep denied that Lyash was departing both in response to or to get forward of strain from Trump’s staff after six years within the job.
“The reply is not any,” spokeswoman Melissa Greene advised The Publish. “When Jeff was employed in 2019, he advised the TVA Board of Administrators that he would allow them to know when he was critically contemplating retirement. Jeff stored his phrase, starting these conversations with the Board final fall.”
In his goodbye message, Lyash wrote: “Whereas I’m wanting ahead to my subsequent chapter, spending extra time with household, grandchildren, and associates, I’ll miss our TVA staff and the relationships we’ve constructed throughout this area.”
“The true power of TVA is its folks – an skilled and passionate workforce who work every single day to make a distinction,” Lyash added.
Trump tore into Lyash through the last 12 months of the forty fifth presidency, saying in August 2020 that “we’re eliminating him in a single kind or one other. Both the board’s gonna do it, or we’re gonna do it, however he’s gone.”
Trump mentioned on the time that Lyash ought to have been incomes “not more than $500,000 a 12 months” and shouldn’t get a “lavish” exit package deal.
By legislation, the president earns $400,000 yearly, along with a $50,000 allowance for bills. Members of Congress obtain a yearly wage of $174,000.
The then-president, responding to a query from The Publish, mentioned that Lyash was grossly overpaid for his function main the federally owned utility, which is a legacy of New Deal infrastructure tasks.
“That’s the best job within the historical past of presidency virtually, actually in the event you’re into cash … I’ve been ready for any individual to ask me about that, it’s been bothering me for a very long time,” Trump mentioned at a briefing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Different TVA staff are additionally incomes high greenback — with chief monetary officer John Thomas raking in $6.3 million a 12 months, chief working officer Don Moul incomes $5 million, common counsel David Fountain making $3.3 million and chief nuclear officer Tim Rausch taking dwelling $3.3 million, based on a November report from the Knoxville Information Sentinel.
Criticism of TVA salaries has been bipartisan, with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) telling The Publish in 2020 that Lyash’s pay was “out of line for a public company.”
“Many [TVA executives] make over one million {dollars} working an company set as much as render power and assist to a poor area in our nation that also suffers economically in lots of areas,” Cohen mentioned.
“This makes the out-of-line salaries much more distasteful. This has been incorrect for many years and people salaries needs to be significantly lowered, notably at the moment.”
Lyash’s subordinates defended his compensation by noting that utility executives typically get seven- or eight-figure hauls.
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