President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, will serve as energy secretary in his incoming second 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 market.
Trump also said in a statement Saturday that Wright will be a member of the newly created National Energy Council, which will be chaired by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior.
Burgum will oversee a panel made up of all executive agencies involved in energy licensing, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in an earlier statement.
Wright is one of the loudest voices in the industry against efforts to fight climate change and could boost fossil fuels, including swift action to end a yearlong pause in the Biden administration’s approval of natural gas exports.
Wright has also 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.”
Wright’s consideration of leading the government’s energy department drew 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.
The Energy Department is responsible for promoting the energy, environmental, and nuclear security of the United States. The agency is responsible for the maintenance of the country’s nuclear weapons, oversees 17 national research laboratories and approves natural gas exports, as well as environmental cleanup of the country’s nuclear weapons complex. It also promotes scientific and technological research.
Republican Sen. John Barrasso, who is expected to chair the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Trump promised bold choices for his Cabinet, and Wright’s nomination is delivering results.
“He is an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom. After four years of America’s latest energy policy, our country is desperate for a Secretary of Energy who understands how important American energy is to our economy and our national security. Barrasso said of Wright, adding, “Wright will ensure America remains committed to all of the above energy policies that put American families first.”
Thomas Pyle, chairman of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Wright would be “an excellent choice” as energy secretary. Pyle led Trump’s Energy Department transition team in 2016.
Liberty is a major service provider in the energy sector, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned a bachelor’s degree from MIT and graduated in electrical engineering from the University of California-Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.
