Trump's Cabinet picks for energy set for Senate hearings: What to watch
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Chris Wright, Doug Burgum and Lee Zeldin. Photos: Andy Cross, Variety, Tom Williams via Getty Images
President-elect Trump's picks to lead energy and environment agencies will appear before Senate committees at high-profile hearings this week.
Why it matters: It's the first look at how they'll breathe life into Trump's plan to scrap Biden-era climate policies and promote oil and gas production.
What's next: The Interior nominee, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, testifies on Tuesday before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
- DOE choice Chris Wright appears there on Wednesday, while EPA pick Lee Zeldin faces the Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday.
- Transportation selection Sean Duffy chats publicly with the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, while Treasury nominee Scott Bessent testifies before the Finance Committee on Thursday.
A few things we'll be looking for...
The IRA's future. Wright will face questions about the future of grant programs under the 2022 climate law and the loan program it expanded.
- Meanwhile, Bessent could get queries about whether he'll make it tougher to tap IRA tax subsidies Treasury controls for EVs, manufacturing and more.
- Meanwhile, Duffy will have sway over unspent funds for EV charging and more under the 2021 infrastructure law.
A sense of the "National Energy Council." That's the new, Burgum-led multi-agency group Trump vowed to create to steer policy.
- But what exactly it'll do is kind of a mystery right now.
Intelligence on AI data centers. Don't be shocked if nominees get questions about how they hope to meet data centers' surging power needs.
Takes on LA fires and climate. Ripped-from-the-headlines questions are common at Capitol Hill hearings, and the environment and energy committees have Californians.
- Burgum could be queried about fire management on federal lands, and more broadly all of them will probably be asked about climate.
Committee vibes. The hearings will be an early check on the vibes and potential for cooperation in the 119th Congress. Things are off to a rocky start on the energy committee.
- Energy's ranking Democrat Martin Heinrich is bashing GOP Chairman Mike Lee for proceeding without all the paperwork and vetting done — including FBI background checks.
- Lee has countered that it's all on the up and up — and that President Obama's picks proceeded under "near identical circumstances."
- This matters because relationships could prove important to whether there's potential for bipartisan deals (hi, permitting).
The bottom line: All five will likely be confirmed, but the sessions should nonetheless yield insight into their plans.
