Lawmakers questioned President-elect Trump’s power secretary on climate change, the Los Angeles wildfires, and the Biden administration’s inexperienced power agenda throughout his nomination listening to, which noticed disruptions from a number of local weather protesters.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a affirmation listening to for Chris Wright, Liberty Energy Inc. CEO and Trump’s choose to go the Energy Department, on Wednesday, which was additionally his birthday.
The Trump nominee was launched by a Democratic senator, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who described him as having “an unrestrained fanatic for fossil fuels.” Wright targeted his responses on power dominance, saying that local weather change is a “actual problem,” world power demand, and his deal with rising power assets.
“America has an historic alternative to safe our power programs, ship management in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles and meet Cold War legacy waste commitments,” Wright stated in his opening assertion.
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Chris Wright, chief govt officer of Liberty Energy Inc. and US power secretary nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, throughout a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee affirmation listening to in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Al Drago)
Wright stated that he has recognized three “instant duties” the place he’ll focus his consideration, if nominated: unleashing American power, main the world in innovation and expertise breakthroughs and growing manufacturing in America.
“President Trump shares my ardour for power, and if confirmed, I’ll work tirelessly to implement his daring agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of reasonably priced, dependable and safe American power,” Wright advised the committee.
Republicans, comparable to Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, positioned their questioning on Biden administration insurance policies, comparable to a ban on liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) exports, regulations on household appliances, and most not too long ago blocking drilling alongside the coast.
Multiple Democratic senators claimed committee chairman Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, scheduled the affirmation listening to earlier than all required paperwork on Wright was supplied to the members of the committee. Other Democrats used their time on the mic to say the Los Angeles fires have been caused by “climate change.”
President-elect Donald Trump throughout a marketing campaign rally on the PPG Paints Arena on November 04, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Chip Somodevilla)
“Despite the misinformation that is circulating right here within the Capitol, into California, and in all places in between, it is clear that these fires solely attain the scale and the size that they’ve due to unseasonably dry vegetation and very excessive winds, each of that are a direct results of local weather change,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., stated through the listening to.
Asked in regards to the problem of local weather change, Wright stated he believes it is a “actual problem”
“I’ve studied and adopted the info and the evolution of local weather change for at the very least 20 years now. It is a worldwide problem. It is an actual problem. It’s a difficult problem,” Wright stated, including that he believes the answer to local weather change “is to evolve our power system.”
Fox News Digital captured footage of a number of local weather change protesters who disrupted Wright’s listening to on Wednesday.
A protester holds up a “Big Oil Profits LA Burns” banner as Secretary of Energy nominee Chris Wright testifies throughout his affirmation listening to within the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. (Bill Clark)
One protester stood up whereas Wright was being questioned and requested if his insurance policies would “put out the fires in LA.”
“Are you gonna ask any questions or simply softball on the local weather this whole time,” stated one other protester who was faraway from the listening to room.
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Several different local weather protesters have been additionally stationed exterior the listening to room, with shirts that learn, “I will not let my future burn.”
