WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuels executive, to serve as energy secretary in a second Trump administration.
Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, is an outspoken advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest for American “energy dominance” in the global marketplace.
Wright has received 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 adviser who played a key role on energy issues during Trump’s first term.
Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April, where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, expecting Trump to break environmental regulations limit if he were re-elected.
Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to combat climate change and could see a boost to fossil fuels, including swift action to end a year-long pause in approving natural gas exports by the Biden administration.
Wright has criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups, saying the climate movement around the world is “collapsed under its own weight.”
