Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito postponed a scheduled vote on Lee Beaman’s nomination, saying members had additional questions after last week’s hearing. Documents submitted after the hearing show Beaman rents two adjacent Capitol Hill townhomes to pastor Steve Berger’s organization for $1, describing the properties as an investment and saying he does not oversee tenants. Reporting indicates Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Andy Ogles lived in a Beaman-owned house earlier this year, and ProPublica has described the property as part of Berger’s evangelical influence project. Beaman’s family foundation reported major gifts to conservative and Christian groups, including $100,000 in 2025 to the Conservative Partnership Institute, $50,000 each to Turning Point USA and TPUSA Faith, and other contributions to Berger’s group. Beaman told senators he was contacted by the House Ethics Committee in September regarding its investigation into Ogles, and he acknowledged he has never worked in the energy or utilities sector.
