Donald Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary
US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration.
Chief executive of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Mr Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Mr Trump’s quest to achieve US “energy dominance” in the global market.
Mr Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.
Mr Wright also has criticised what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight”.
Consideration of Mr Wright to head the administration’s energy department won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm.
Mr 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 in Mr Trump’s first term.
Mr Hamm helped organise an event at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where industry leaders and lobbyists were reportedly asked to donate one billion dollars to Mr Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Mr Trump would curtail environmental regulations if re-elected.
The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States.
The agency is in charge of maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons, oversees 17 national research laboratories and approves natural gas exports, as well as ensuring environmental clean-up of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex.
It also promotes scientific and technological research.
Republican Senator John Barrasso, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Mr Trump promised bold choices for his Cabinet, and Mr Wright’s nomination delivers.
“He’s an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom.
“After four years of America last 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,” Mr Barrasso said of Mr Wright, adding: “Wright will help ensure America remains committed to an all-of-the-above energy policy that puts American families first.”
Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Mr Wright would be “an excellent choice” for energy secretary. Mr Pyle led Mr Trump’s Energy Department’s transition team in 2016.
Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology.
Mr Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and did graduate work in electrical engineering at 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.