Wright promises to 'unleash' American energy as DOE head

David Jordan, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 15, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Energy secretary, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday that if confirmed he would use the position to “unleash American energy at home and abroad.”

That message and others like it drew universal praise from the committee’s Republicans, setting him up for an easy confirmation, with Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, saying he hopes to have it wrapped up before the end of the month.

If so, Wright would be tasked with administering U.S. energy policy, maintaining and protecting the nation’s nuclear stockpile, running 17 national laboratories and overseeing the department’s Loan Programs Office.

Trump has said that Wright would also sit on the new National Energy Council along with Interior secretary pick Doug Burgum, whom the committee is scheduled to hear from on Thursday.

Much of the hearing focused on the role the department plays in domestic energy policy. In his opening statement Wright said he would immediately focus his attention on three tasks: removing barriers to completing energy projects, accelerating the innovation work of the national laboratories and advancing American energy domestically and abroad.

“The security of our nation begins with energy,” Wright said. “Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense asset that it is. To compete globally we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquefied natural gas, and cut the cost of energy for Americans.”

Wright is currently the CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy Inc., an oilfield services company that specializes in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Wright has been a staunch supporter of continued fossil fuel production, arguing that wind, solar and battery power will be unable to replace oil and natural gas in the long term.

Wright has downplayed the impacts of climate change, arguing in a Liberty Energy report released in January 2024 by his company that “climate alarmism” has stymied investment in fossil fuels.

Republicans repeatedly referenced this report during the hearing, in which Wright refers to a need for energy realism to understand that fossil fuels continue to be the largest source of energy across the global economy and remain key to global prosperity. Lee said this view brings a “clear-headed perspective to the climate change dialogue.”

Wright’s stance has earned him strident opposition from environmental groups. Protesters repeatedly interrupted questions from Republican members, connecting his company’s activities to the fires in and around Los Angeles that have burned thousands of homes and businesses.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., pressed Wright over a post on the social media platform X from 2023 where he said the “hype over wildfires is just hype to justify more impoverishment from bad government policies.” When pressed, Wright said that he stood by his past statement.

Wright, though, repeatedly said that climate change was real in response to questions from Democrats. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, described Wright’s stance as more subtle than outright climate denialism, characterizing it as recognizing “the tension between diminishing our reliance on fossil fuels and powering those 6 billion people who don’t have adequate energy resources today.” Wright agreed with King’s summation.

“(Climate change) is a global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue and the solution to climate change is to evolve our energy system,” said Wright. “I’ve worked on that most all of my career.”

Wright said he hoped to support the work of the national laboratories, which he said could “secure America’s competitive edge and its security.” In response to a question from Padilla, Wright said that if asked to not publish or withhold research he “will follow the scientific method” and the “laws and statutes of our country.”

Wright similarly said he would follow the country’s laws and statutes in response to a question from ranking member Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., should he be directed by the Office of Management and Budget not to spend funds already appropriated by Congress, which could include those for green energy programs.

Wright expressed his support for geothermal power, saying that it has untapped potential as an energy source. Wright also said he hoped to be able to support improvements and expansion of the transmission grid, an issue that emerged as a sticking point last year as lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to advance a bill overhauling the federal permitting system.

Wright said that building new transmission lines and increasing the capacity of existing lines is “very important to meet this growing demand of energy and hopefully return to the good trend of a decline in the real cost of electricity and a growth in the reliability.”

_____