The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking firm Liberty Power, to steer the Power Division.
The vote was 59-38. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) in addition to impartial Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to substantiate him.
Lawmakers on each side of the aisle indicated assist for his nomination throughout his affirmation listening to, and he sailed out of committee on a 15-5 vote.
“He’s a scientist who has invested his life around energy. He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard, but he studied nuclear,” Hickenlooper mentioned throughout Wright’s affirmation listening to. “His first years of working were in solar. He has experience in wind.”
However, Wright has additionally stoked some controversy over previous feedback downplaying local weather change’s connections to excessive climate.
Nonetheless, through the listening to, he acknowledged that local weather change is going on, saying it’s “a global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue.”
Now that he’s confirmed, Wright will run a division that oversees vitality analysis and loans, in addition to the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
He gave important monetary contributions to Trump’s marketing campaign, giving two donations of $175,000 and $53,990 to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee, which allocates funds to the Trump marketing campaign, the Republican Nationwide Committee and different political committees.
Wright’s supporters cheered his affirmation.
“I am confident that we can reverse the irresponsible policies of the Biden administration and prioritize affordable and reliable energy. Under his leadership, the DOE will once again support the American worker, the American family, and the American future,” mentioned Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Power and Pure Assets Committee, in a press release.
However, critics expressed concern about placing a fossil gasoline government in control of the division.
“Senate Republicans just handed Trump’s Big Oil allies the keys to the Department of Energy. Chris Wright built his career expanding fossil fuels and denying climate science—even dismissing wildfires as ‘just hype’ while entire communities in Los Angeles were reduced to ash. Now, he’ll be in a position to help Trump attempt his illegal funding blockade, stalling clean energy investments, jacking up energy prices, and keeping Americans addicted to expensive, volatile fossil fuels,” mentioned a press release from Lena Moffitt, government director of local weather advocacy group Evergreen Motion.
“No Democrat should have voted to confirm a wealthy fossil fuel executive who claims ‘there’s no clean energy’ and whose only qualifications appear to be writing big checks to Trump’s campaign,” she added.
Up to date at 7:07 pm EST.
Author : LasVegasNews
Publish date : 2025-02-04 00:27:42
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