Sen. Corker's got some worries about TVA:

Corker also said he is looking at alternative governance structures for the federal utility, which was created in 1933 to serve parts of seven states, including Tennessee.

The senator has recently complained about the corporate acumen of presidentially appointed members serving on TVA's governing board. TVA has major challenges that need someone with high-level corporate board experience, Corker said.

The agency was transformed in the mid-2000s by legislation pushed by then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. It went from a three-member full-time board to a part-time nine-member board which then selects a CEO to run the $11 billion-a-year business.

"I don't know what the best model" would be, Corker said. "I've had some conversations. I've wondered whether governors wouldn't care more about them. At the end of the day governors, let's say the governor of Tennessee, sure cares a lot more about the economic growth of Tennessee than anyone in the White House does.