John Sneed

The Honorable John Sneed joins Orion Nuclear as Senior Vice President – Director of Federal & State Programs. Mr. Sneed served in both Trump Administrations, appointed twice as the director of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) and served as Chief of Staff to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.

At DOE’s LPO, John guided lending to support the first Trump Administration’s energy cost reduction policies, then returned in 2025 to manage clean energy lending authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, specifically to support nuclear and gas technologies, before shifting focus back to Texas.

His earlier tenure at DOE, under the first Trump administration, included his initial appointment as Executive Director of the Loan Programs Office, as well as serving concurrently as Chair of the Department’s Project Management Risk Committee. In this latter role, he advised senior leadership on budget and schedule.

During the first Trump Administration, Mr. Sneed served as Chief of Staff to Energy Secretary Rick Perry. In this role, he was the Secretary’s principal advisor, ensuring that policy objectives were clearly communicated and successfully executed. He provided strategic counsel on energy policy, budget, communications, national security, and intergovernmental affairs.

Most recently, under the second Trump Administration, he returned to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), once again serving as Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO), responsible for managing the $400 billion program authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act. In this capacity, he oversaw one of the federal government’s most significant project finance operations, managing a portfolio of over $60 billion in loans and loan guarantees supporting innovative clean energy and manufacturing projects.

Mr. Sneed’s public service career also includes senior roles at the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas General Land Office, and over six years on Capitol Hill working for a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. As Senior Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, he was responsible for overseeing major infrastructure and enterprise programs, including serving as the Lieutenant Governor’s designee to the Texas Bond Review Board and liaison to both the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Emerging Technology Fund.

A fifth-generation Texan, Mr. Sneed holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.