US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday nominated fracking magnate and climate change skeptic Chris Wright as energy secretary, tasking him with “cutting red tape” in a move the new administration hopes will spur investment in fossil fuels. Will increase.
“As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader who will advance innovation, cut red tape, and usher in a new ‘Golden Age of American prosperity and global peace,'” Trump said in a statement.
Wright is the founder of Liberty Energy, which serves energy companies that have massively increased U.S. fossil fuel production in recent years by extracting oil and gas from shale fields in a process called “fracking.”
“My dedication to improving human life remains steadfast with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable and secure,” Wright said on Twitter after Trump’s announcement.
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“Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible… I look forward to getting to work.”
In a previous LinkedIn post, Wright denied there was a “climate crisis.”
“There is no climate crisis and we are not even in the middle of an energy transition,” he said, adding that “the term carbon pollution is offensive” because all life depends on carbon dioxide.
“There is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy,” he said, “all energy sources have both positive and negative impacts on the world.”
drilling
During his election campaign, Trump – who calls climate change a hoax – promised to boost the domestic fossil fuel industry to reduce inflation-fueling energy prices.
He also promised to break the United States’ commitments to environmental rules and combating climate change under the historic 2015 Paris Agreement.
Wright will craft policy with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, the head of the newly created National Energy Council.
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“We will baby drill, expand all types of energy production to grow our economy and create good-paying jobs,” Trump said in announcing Burgum’s appointment on Friday.
Wright has repeatedly criticized efforts by outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden to encourage America’s transition to a low-carbon energy model and downplayed the importance of solar.
His views have put him at particular odds with Trump’s key supporter and informal adviser, Tesla boss Elon Musk, who started an electric car company and has invested heavily in solar energy out of fear of the effects of climate change.
controversial selection
Trump, 78, began shaping his new administration this week with a series of relatively mainstream Republican choices, including conservative Florida senator and foreign policy expert Marco Rubio for secretary of state.
But then came the nominations for leaders of huge federal departments in his new government who have little or no relevant experience — but a history of loyalty to the incoming president.
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Among the most controversial were Attorney General picks Matt Gaetz, a former congressman once investigated for alleged sex trafficking, as well as Fox News host and National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth, who was tapped to lead the Pentagon despite a thin CV. was named.
Like Wright, he will need approval from the Republican-dominated Senate where Trump has warned lawmakers not to stand in his way or even abandon the oversight process all together.
Vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated as the new health secretary, while former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who has regularly defied the Kremlin, has been offered the job of director of national intelligence. Was.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
