Senate Committee Approves Trump’s Picks to Lead Energy and Interior Departments By Reuters
Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate committees on Thursday approved President Donald Trump’s picks to lead energy and environmental policy – officials who, if backed by the full Senate, will seek to maximize fossil fuel production and scrap parts of climate policy.
The committee voted 18-2 to approve former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the U.S. Interior Department and the new National Energy Council, which is expected to boost oil and gas production.
The board also voted 15-5 to approve Chris Wright, the Energy Department’s selectman and CEO of oil service Liberty Energy.
Additionally, the Senate Environment Committee voted 11-8 to approve former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
The full Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, will next consider the nominations.
Burgum said he will vigorously pursue increased energy production from America’s public lands and waters, calling it critical to national security.
Burgum’s comments to lawmakers during the nomination hearing signaled a sharp turn in policy. Former President Joe Biden, as part of his efforts to tackle climate change, sought for years to limit oil and gas drilling by reducing federal lease auctions and banning future development in some offshore waters.
Wright believes fossil fuels are the key to ending world poverty, a bigger problem than the “distant” threat of climate change, according to a report he wrote while on Liberty. He will resign from the company if approved by the Senate.
In his nomination hearing, Wright said the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles were “heartbreaking,” but stood by his previous comments on social media about the wildfires.
In 2023, Wright said on social media that “the wildfire frenzy is just hype to justify” climate change policies.
Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who voted against Wright, said his comments about the wildfires and his refusal to retract his statement “made it impossible for me to support his nomination.”
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, said both Wright and Burgum have proven they are committed to carrying out Trump’s plan to “unleash American energy by ending the policies of climate alarmism and extremism.”
Zeldin has often voted against bills on green issues, including measures to stop oil companies from raising prices.
Zeldin said at the nomination hearing that he believes climate change is real and a threat, but that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is only authorized, not required, to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
Zeldin would likely be tasked with carrying out several of Trump’s executive orders, including making recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget on the “legality and continuing applicability” of the 2009 greenhouse gas threat findings.
That finding, upheld by the Supreme Court, gives the EPA the authority to take action to regulate those emissions.
