WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected campaign donor and fossil fuel executive Chris Wright to be energy secretary in his next second administration.
Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, has been vocal about oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing, a key pillar of President Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in global markets. It is claimed that
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Mr. Wright has been one of the industry’s most vocal opponents of climate change efforts, including swift action to end the Biden administration’s yearlong suspension of natural gas export approvals. There is a possibility that it will be supported.
Mr Wright also criticized what he called a “top-down” approach to climate change by liberals and left-wing groups, saying climate movements around the world were “collapsing under their own weight”.
Consideration of Wright to head the administration’s Energy Department attracted support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm.
Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and advisor who played a key role on energy issues during Trump’s first term.
Mr. Hamm helped Mr. Trump organize an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in April. At the event, Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to the Trump campaign in hopes of cutting environmental regulations if he is re-elected.
The Department of Energy is responsible for promoting the energy, environmental, and nuclear security of the United States. The agency is responsible for maintaining the nation’s nuclear arsenal, overseeing 17 national laboratories, approving natural gas exports and ensuring the environmental cleanup of domestic nuclear weapons facilities. It also promotes scientific and technological research.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso, who will become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said President Trump has promised to make bold choices for his Cabinet, and Wright’s nomination is a testament to that.
“He is an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom. After four years of America’s last energy policy, our nation realized how important American energy was to our economy and national security. “We desperately need an (energy) secretary who will do that,” Barrasso said of Wright, adding, “Wright will help ensure America’s survival.” We are committed to all of the above energy policies that put American families first. ”
Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Wright would be a “great choice” for energy secretary. Pyle led President Trump’s Department of Energy transition team in 2016.
Liberty is a leading technology-focused energy industry service provider. Mr. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned a bachelor’s degree from MIT and completed graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies to help start commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing.
He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.
