Senate handily confirms Chris Wright as Energy secretary
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Wright at his confirmation hearing. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
The Senate confirmed fracking CEO Chris Wright as Energy secretary in a bipartisan vote Monday evening.
Why it matters: Wright will immediately have to smooth out President Trump's efforts to slow down — or halt entirely — climate change-related spending.
- He'll also now control the federal government's most important energy research.
Driving the news: Wright, an engineer and CEO of hydraulic fracturing company Liberty Energy, cleared the Senate 59 to 38.
- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate progressives opposed his nomination.
What they're saying: Majority Leader John Thune said on the floor that Wright would be "notable among secretaries of Energy for his depth of experience."
Zoom in: Wright steered clear of partisanship during his confirmation hearing, but pledged to look into ethics allegations surrounding DOE's loan programs "immediately."
- He talked up his research into energy and climate issues and backing of nuclear, geothermal, solar, transmission, and energy storage technologies.
- "There isn't dirty energy and clean energy — all energies are different, and they have different tradeoffs," Wright told the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Between the lines: Democrats who voted for Wright said they believe he will faithfully continue spending IRA and infrastructure law dollars, despite the administration's moves to turn off the spigot.
- The White House has thrown uncertainty into DOE programs by moving to pause federal grant and loan spending across the board.
- Wright, in responses to written questions from the committee, didn't directly answer some queries about IRA and infrastructure law spending.
- But he did pledge a "full review" of Biden-era requirements around community benefits plans. Energy Chair Mike Lee suggested those plans "could require discrimination and other actions of dubious legality."
The bottom line: Trump now has Senate-confirmed heads for DOE, Interior and EPA — the three top energy/climate positions in the administration.
