Trump Picks Fracking Firm CEO Chris Wright to Be Energy Secretary

November 17, 2024

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by Evan Halper, Maxine Joselow, Maegan Vazquez and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) The executive has taken a defiant approach to fighting climate change by attacking policies that call for a shift from fossil fuels. -- President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has selected Chris Wright, the head of fracking company Liberty Energy and a skeptic of mainstream climate science, to lead the Department of Energy and to serve on a new National Energy Council.

In his announcement, Trump credited Wright as “one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution,” adding that “as Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape.”

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The fracking executive runs a foundation focused on dispelling the conventional wisdom on climate change and promoting expanded fossil fuel production as a solution to many of the world’s problems, an approach others say would drive dangerous levels of warming.

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Wright is an MIT graduate who developed new techniques for fracking — extracting natural gas by creating cracks in the Earth’s bedrock — that helped advance the shale gas revolution.

“There is no ‘climate crisis,’” Wright said in a video he posted on LinkedIn last year, adding that “the only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change.”

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Wright’s appointment puts a strident opponent of clean-energy subsidies in a key Cabinet post as the Trump White House will be weighing whether to rescind billions of dollars in such incentives. Trump has repeatedly called for canceling the subsidies, which are helping to fund a range of climate-friendly endeavors, from consumers purchasing electric vehicles to oil companies investing in green hydrogen.

As energy secretary, Wright would be deeply involved in the allocation of such subsidies, as well as federal loan guarantees to energy projects. He would be in charge of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal, and he would oversee the domestic nuclear energy industry when the sector is seeking to extend the lives of existing reactors and bring new reactor technologies to market.

Wright’s antipathy toward clean-energy subsidies and rules that penalize fossil fuel emissions contrasts with positions taken by (Doug) Burgum (Trump's nominee for Interior Secretary and “energy czar” to oversee Trump's new National Energy Council). As governor of North Dakota, Burgum called for the state to become carbon-neutral by 2030, though he favored reaching this goal through nascent technologies, such as those designed to capture carbon dioxide and store it deep underground.

One of the biggest projects for capturing and burying greenhouse gas emissions in North Dakota is being bankrolled by (Harold) Hamm. Such technologies, which environmentalists caution are not an adequate solution to climate change, rely heavily on federal subsidies.

Another big challenge Wright would confront at the Energy Department is the nation’s power crunch, as demand for electricity from data centers, the manufacturing boom and electric vehicle adoption strain the nation’s power grid. Large new power transmission and distribution projects are urgently needed but have been stymied by fights over who should pay for them, the emissions impacts of different types of power, and the rights of landowners who live in the path of proposed projects.

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Other oil industry executives cheered his appointment. READ MORE

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Excerpt from Politico: In 2011, he founded Liberty, a natural gas fracking service company. He also serves on the board of Oklo, a start-up Silicon Valley-based company developing a new type of small nuclear reactor. He caught Trump’s attention at a fundraiser gathering of oil industry executives in Houston in April.

Liberty and Wright are among the entities that sued the Securities and Exchange Commission over its climate disclosure rule. He testified before a House committee in April against the rule, where he argued that climate change is not within the SEC’s purview and derided the “destructive mission creep” of the agency. READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E News Energywire: Both Chris Wright and Sean Duffy — Trump’s picks for DOE and DOT, respectively — are critical of electric vehicles. Wright, who runs a fracking technology company, has called terms like clean energy “deceptive.” Duffy, a former Republican representative from Wisconsin, has disparaged EVs as unpopular with drivers and questioned the underlying causes of climate change.

If confirmed by the Senate, the two will have significant — but not absolute — authority to roll back Biden administration programs intended to foster a growing EV industry.

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The Department of Transportation sets the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which complement the emissions standards set by EPA. Under Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, DOT wrote a five-year plan to boost fleetwide fuel economy to 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 from 46.7 miles per gallon in 2026.

The Trump transition team has said the incoming administration plans to roll back the latest CAFE standards. That would involve a monthslong effort, including public notices, a comment period and a public hearing.

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“There won’t be a thumb on the scale to the same extent as there is now for one fuel type over another, ” said Andrew Wishnia, who was a climate adviser in Biden’s Department of Transportation for two years and helped write parts of the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Wishnia said he “could envision a Trump administration using that office to provide technical assistance to fuel types across the board.” For example, DOT’s EV-charging initiatives allow it to also fund fueling infrastructure for hydrogen, natural gas and propane.

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The result of the Trump administration’s efforts may be an auto industry that switches, at least in the short term, to building hybrids.

Hybrids are more profitable than all-electric vehicles, and allow the companies to benefit from the battery plants they’re already building, said Karl Brauer, an auto analyst with iSeeCars.

They’re also more popular with American drivers, who remain concerned about the high cost of EVs and the lack of charging stations.

Hybrids are more fuel-efficient than conventional internal-combustion vehicles. Though they’re not the zero-emissions solution that many environmentalists prefer, they may be the best way to cut pollution from the transportation sector, Brauer said.

“The best diet is not the greatest diet in the world — it’s the one you can maintain,” Brauer said. READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E News Climatewire: President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Energy has amassed a fortune in the fossil fuel business, sits on the board of a nuclear reactor company and has played a notable role in the development of geothermal power.

It’s a lengthy job history, and helps explain why Trump tapped Chris Wright for the job. But it’s unclear how much Wright will distance himself from these interests if the Senate ultimately agrees to let him run the Energy Department.

And even if he does, critics say, Wright still will be in position to boost the oil and gas industry that made him a mint.

His biggest potential conflict of interest is with Liberty Energy, a Colorado-based business that provides hydraulic fracturing services. Wright founded the company in 2011 and serves as its CEO and board chair. He also holds about 2.6 million shares in Liberty — worth more than $40 million based on the current stock price.

On the day Trump announced Wright as his choice to serve as Energy secretary, Wright filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission that confirmed he would leave his leadership posts at Liberty. The company’s current president, Ron Gusek, then would take the helm.

It’s an open question, however, as to what happens to Wright’s holdings with the company.

Under federal ethics rules, Wright would be required to sell his shares in Liberty and other energy companies within 180 days if confirmed by the Senate. But Trump could grant Wright a waiver that would allow Wright to keep his investments.

Typically, Cabinet secretary nominees divest from any holdings that could be affected by their leadership of an agency within the first few months after confirmation.

For example, when former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson served as Trump’s first secretary of State, he sold off his shares in the oil giant while benefiting from a significant tax break. The federal tax code allows incoming administration officials to avoid paying capital gains tax when they divest their holdings, as long as it placed in specific financial vehicles such as a Treasury bond.

Wright has not said what he would do. A Liberty spokesperson referred all questions about Wright’s financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest to the Trump administration transition team. A transition team spokesperson declined to address whether Wright would entirely divest all of his energy stock holdings.

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However, Painter said it’s a “different world” under Trump. Still, he expects Wright would not want to run afoul of any criminal statutes if he tries to take an action that would directly benefit his bottom line.

“I don’t see any way that you can do your job as secretary of the Energy Department without getting rid of energy stocks,” he said.

Wright has made some moves recently as it relates to his Liberty shares.

He sold 40,000 shares of Liberty stock worth about $750,000 the week of Election Day, according to SEC filings. The filings show the stock value was soaring at that time.

Ties to mineral rights, geothermal and nuclear power READ MORE

Excerpt from Chris Wright: I see three immediate tasks where I will focus my attention if confirmed.

The first is to unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance. The security of our nation begins with energy. Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is. To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquified natural gas, and cut the cost of energy.

Second, we must lead the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs. Throughout my lifetime, technology and innovation have immeasurably enhanced the human condition. We must protect and accelerate the work of the Department’s national laboratory network to secure America’s competitive edge and its security. I commit to working with Congress on the important missions of the national laboratories.

Third, we must build things in America again and remove barriers to progress. Federal policies today make it too easy to stop projects and very hard to start and complete projects. This makes energy more expensive and less reliable. President Trump is committed to lowering energy costs and to do so, we must prioritize cutting red tape, enabling private sector investments, and building the infrastructure we need to make energy more affordable for families and businesses. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico Pro: President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Energy Department, Chris Wright, said Wednesday he supported increasing global access to oil and gas — even as he acknowledged that fossil fuels were driving climate change.

"Energy is critical to human lives. Climate change is a global challenge that we need to solve," Wright said. "And the trade-offs between those two are the decisions politicians make, and they're the decisions that will impact the future of our world."

Wright, who is the CEO of Colorado-based fracking services company Liberty Energy, faced numerous questions Wednesday over his previous comments on climate change and his support for growing U.S. fossil fuel production and exports.

Wright's comments came in response to questions from Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who called Wright "a walking energy transition" and dubbed his positions on climate change to be "more subtle" than is publicly recognized.

"Predictions are hard, particularly about the future, and I think we need to be humble about that," Wright said on Wednesday. Instead, Wright called for the advancement of energy technologies "that grow the amount of energy we have and drive down the cost," as well as lowering emissions. READ MORE

Excerpt from Reuters: Wright believes fossil fuels are key to ending world poverty; Wright supports new small nuclear reactors and geothermal power; Democrats, Wright agree on need for more power transmission

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the U.S. Energy Department, told U.S. senators in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday his first priority is expanding domestic energy production including liquefied natural gas and nuclear power.

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Wright supports some fossil fuel alternatives, such as small nuclear power reactors, which are not yet commercially available, and geothermal power. He has criticized solar and wind power as insufficient.

"Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is," Wright said.

"To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquefied natural gas, and cut the cost of energy for Americans."

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Wright said the U.S. must remove barriers to progress on energy. Trump, a Republican who takes office on Jan. 20, may declare a national energy emergency, allowing him to fast-track permits for new power infrastructure and other energy projects.

Removing barriers would fit into Trump's agenda to expand energy output as U.S. power demand begins to surge for the first time in decades and to reverse Biden's pause on LNG exports.

Biden passed a signature climate change law with billions of dollars to support alternative energy projects. But Congress has failed so far to pass a permitting bill for the transmission infrastructure needed to move huge amounts of power from high-tech projects like renewables and planned new nuclear reactors. READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E Daily: The central tension of the hearing fell on Wright’s views on climate change. The fossil fuel executive previously said in social media posts and comments that warming was less important than fighting global energy poverty.

The most contentious aspect of the hearing occurred when Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, whose home state is currently battling severe wildfires in Los Angeles, questioned a 2023 LinkedIn post in which Wright said “the hype over wildfires is just hype to justify” harmful climate policies.

Padilla said devastating wildfires are unquestionably a direct result of climate change. But Wright did not retract his comments, despite qualifying that climate change is a substantial concern facing the world today.

“Climate change is a real and global phenomenon,” Wright said, but later added he “stands by my past comment.”

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Sen. Rich McCormick (R-Pa.), a new member of the committee, asked Wright about Trump’s plans for hydrogen projects. The Biden administration recently finalized guidance around a critical IRA tax credit for green hydrogen, but industry representatives speculate the guidance could be completely overhauled to allow hydrogen producers that use natural gas to qualify.

Wright said “it’s too early” to comment on what may happen to the hydrogen tax credit or DOE hydrogen programs at the moment. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico: Chris Wright, the Denver-based fracking CEO tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Energy Department, was confirmed to the role by the Senate Monday evening.

Senators voted 59-38 to confirm Wright, including support from some Democrats, despite opposition to his nomination from environmental groups and their party's leadership in the Senate who criticized his comments downplaying climate change as a serious global threat.

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Wright has pledged to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy at the agency, which oversees a wide array of energy research and development, maintains the country’s nuclear stockpile and operates the network of national laboratories.

“What I like most about Mr. Wright is that he tells the truth about energy production. He acknowledges that climate change is real. He knows more American energy is the solution, not the problem,” said Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on the floor last week. “His energy realism is welcome news.”

Wright spent his career pioneering fracking technologies that have helped revolutionize the oil and gas sector and turned the U.S. into the world's largest producer of those energy sources. He is currently the CEO of Liberty Energy and is on the board of Oklo, a company developing small modular nuclear reactors. Liberty Energy is also an investor in enhanced geothermal start-up Fervo Energy.

Once confirmed, Wright pledged to divest interests and stocks and resign from his positions with Liberty Energy, Oklo and EMX Royalty, a global mining royalties company.

During his confirmation hearing last month, Wright detailed three "immediate tasks" he would focus on if confirmed: unleashing American energy at home and abroad to “restore our energy dominance,” pursuing innovation and technology breakthroughs and cutting red tape for energy and infrastructure projects.

Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, who has known Wright for years, acknowledged there are ample issues the pair disagree on, which has prompted “heated discussions” on the federal government’s role in addressing climate change, in particular.

But Hickenlooper — who introduced Wright at his confirmation hearing — ultimately supported his confirmation Monday (February 3, 2025).

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The president also nominated James Danly, a Trump-appointed FERC commissioner, as deputy secretary.

Elsewhere in the department, Alex Fitzsimmons will serve as Wright’s chief of staff, while Trump tapped Wells Griffith for undersecretary of energy and Darío Gil for undersecretary for science and innovation.

Wright will also sit on the National Security Council and could play a key role in the National Energy Dominance Council that is still taking shape. READ MORE

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As secretary, Wright will also oversee an Energy Department that was expanded by former President Joe Biden to implement Democrats’ climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other programs under the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Much of that funding is currently in question as the department undergoes a review of projects and spending spurred by Trump.

Wright has come under scrutiny for his previous statements and views over the threat from climate change. Environmental groups, like the League of Conservation Voters, have criticized him as a wealthy Big Oil executive with direct conflicts of interest heading the department, as well as for his previous statements — some of which, like the connection between wildfires and climate change, he doubled down on during his confirmation hearing.