Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary argues that fossil fuels are integral to human development

If approved by the Senate, Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, will be the first time the Department of Energy has had an executive in the energy industry lead it. In a statement on X, Wright said he’s “honored and grateful” for the opportunity.

“My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, with a focus on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible. Energy matters,” Wright said.

The statement reflects an aspect about Wright that distinguishes him from other energy champions Trump has picked for cabinet positions. Energy experts have often criticized oil companies for not speaking up as fossil fuels were demonized as inherently destructive, while often capitulating to the activists’ demands to eliminate energy from fossil fuels, in hopes of being the “last one eaten.” Liberty Energy has been an exception.

No apologies

The company offers no apologies for producing oil and gas, and even speaks proudly of the work it does. Liberty Energy produces an ESG report called “Bettering Human Lives,” which argues that fossil fuels have a net-positive impact on the planet.

“Our mission is to better human lives. Human happiness comes through relationships, love, and finding a strong purpose in life. Preconditions for these ultimate ends are food, shelter, health, education, and longevity. None of these are possible without energy, and the quality of each depends on the degree of access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” Wright states in an introductory letter in the report.

In the letter, Wright says he’s “passionate about alternative energies” and discusses his investments in nuclear and battery technologies, but, he explains, solar, wind and batteries have not and will not replace most energy services.

Wright is also passionate about alleviating energy poverty. He founded the Bettering Human Lives Foundation, which seeks to help the world’s poor switch to cleaner cooking fuels. On energy watchdog Robert Bryce’s “Power Hungry” podcast in 2023, Wright said his favorite fossil fuel is propane because when people in undeveloped countries switch from wood and dung to propane, it reduces indoor pollution, a significant killer worldwide. 

‘Because it’s true’

Wright told Cowboy State Daily in 2023 that, when Liberty Energy released the first version of the ESG report, a reporter at a major national media outlet asked why he would risk stirring up so much controversy. “Because it’s true,” Wright replied.

Besides his willingness to defend the oil and gas industry in the media, Wright also encourages his employees to be proud of what they do, which he does to counteract all the negativity the industry receives. He told Cowboy State Daily that he wished more leaders in the industry would speak up in defense of their products.

Linnea Lueken, Heartland Institute energy research fellow, previously worked on offshore oil rigs for a multinational oil well service company. She told Just the News that corporate internal communications was always in an apologetic tone for the impact the industry has on the planet.

She said she was once getting some air on the deck of the rig during a break and a “company man” from the company that operated the rig came up to her and the two started discussing the weather on this particularly hot day.

“And he said, ‘Well, you know, it gets hotter every year because of climate change.’ I was speechless. If I believed the product we produced was killing the planet, I would not work in this industry,” Lueken said.

She said it was different among the “rank and file” workers, who were much more skeptical of the “climate crisis” narrative. 

“As soon as you put a tie on somebody in the oil field, they'll become an international company man, rather than an industry-loyal company man,” Lueken said. She said she was pleasantly surprised when she heard Wright, someone who defends the industry, will be taking the helm at the DOE.

“I can’t think of anyone better. I’m very excited about that, very hopeful about what that’s going to look like” for the industry, Lueken said. 

Limitations

If approved, Wright will have a limited regulatory role over the oil, gas and coal industries. The Department of Interior administers oil and gas lease sales on public lands, including the U.S. offshore lease program. 

Wright’s department will approve or deny applications for liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits, which means he can end President Joe Biden’s moratorium on those permits. He can also potentially rescind proposed appliance efficiency standards. 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s nominee for Interior Secretary, has also been a champion of fossil fuels. However, he has outlined plans to make the state carbon neutral by 2030, and he’s been supportive of carbon capture initiatives, arguing they have economic benefits. He’s also spoken favorably about ESG. Lueken said these comments have made the Heartland skeptical about Burgum. 

“I think he’s one of those Chamber of Commerce types. Just not very strong on these issues,” Lueken said. When Trump tapped Burgum for the position, she said she was concerned that energy policy in the Trump administration might not go as far as she had hoped it would to undo the energy policies of the Biden-Harris administration. With Wright tapped for Energy Secretary, she said she’s more hopeful.

“Maybe he'll even be able to knock some sense into the Department of the Interior,” Lueken said. 

Wright will also sit on a new informal agency called the National Energy Council, which Burgum will chair. Its goal is to chart a path for Trump’s energy dominance plan.

Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow with the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute and publisher of “JunkScience.com,” said Wright was an excellent choice, but he’s concerned about a gas company executive’s influence on the coal industry. Milloy argues that coal should be the primary fuel to produce electricity, and natural gas should be exported to Europe and Asia, where it would fetch a much higher price. This makes more sense, Milloy said, economically. 

Wright “is great on climate for natural gas, but is he great on climate for coal, too? That’s the question for me, and I think that’s really important,” Milloy said. 

Energy analyst David Blackmon, who publishes his work on his “Energy Absurdities” Substack, said that, while the regulatory areas Wright will oversee will be limited, his influence will extend through Trump’s second administration. 

“I would expect Chris to be a pretty powerful voice in that cross-agency coordination effort that they have going on,” Blackmon told Just the News. 

The Office of Nuclear Energy, which aims to advance nuclear science and technology, is under the DOE umbrella. As an advocate for nuclear energy, including serving on the board of advanced-reactor startup Oklo, Wright will have an influence there. 

Human flourishing

Blackmon said that overall Wright is going to alter the philosophical outlook of the department from that of the previous administration. “The globalists are taking this top-down approach by trying to force it all through government mandates and subsidies, where what Chris is advocating for is a bottom-up approach that lifts people out of energy poverty and into prosperity and human flourishing,” Blackmon said. 

While a Republican-controlled Senate will make Wright’s confirmation easier, a group of analysts who publish on Substack under the pen name “Doomberg,” argue there could be a battle ahead in the confirmation hearings. 

“Wright’s nomination is sure to trigger vigorous opposition by all the predictable people, and we hope he is well prepared to run the gauntlet of personal destruction that the left will undoubtedly use to derail him,” the Doomberg analysts wrote. Anti-fossil fuel groups are already voicing strong opposition to Wright. 

“He’ll be hell-bent on abusing his power to prolong the use of deadly fossil fuels and give his corporate polluter executive friends a rubber stamp for the unfettered buildout of LNG exports…Chris Wright is not merely unqualified, he’s a direct threat to our future and the planet’s. The Sierra Club is ready to do all we can to stop him and his pro-polluter agenda,” Sierra Club Director Ben Jealous said in a statement. 

Whether or not such vitriol will be effective is the question. Voters shifted to the right in the election, and that includes shooting down ballot initiatives aimed at restricting natural gas use in Democratic strongholds of Washington state and Berkeley, California. Voters – even in "blue" states – are rejecting bans on gas stoves. Perhaps voters are growing weary of the “climate crisis” rhetoric. Reading the room, the Senate may likewise take a new path.