The Congressional hearings for President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks are underway, and they promise to provide some entertainment, especially from some of the more unhinged and, may we say, hysterical members of Congress – I’m looking at you, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
While it’s shaping up to be a great cabinet, one of the president-elect’s best choices may be his pick for Energy Secretary, Chris Wright.
Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump’s choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elect’s quest for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.
Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and he could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.
CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, he describes himself as “a tech nerd turned entrepreneur” and promotes the idea that more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe.
Chris Wright is, without a doubt, the right man for the job. Here’s why.
The Associated Press whines that Chris Wright has “no experience in government.” That’s a point in his favor.
Wright has been chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy since 2011 and has no experience in government.
Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Picking a bureaucrat up from the ranks is the old pattern of government; we, as a nation, have driven that model until the wheels have come off. Wright’s lack of government experience is probably his best recommendation. He is cut from a different pattern than the Deep State operatives. It’s time that not just Energy but all of the cabinet-level agencies are run by people who have worked in the private sector, who have had to manage budgets, meet payrolls, and produce a product for sale in the market.
What’s more, Wright is open to new ideas.
Wright says on LinkedIn that he is “all-in on energy,″ from starting his career in nuclear, solar and geothermal energy to his current efforts in oil and gas and “next-generation” geothermal. “I don’t care where energy comes (from), as long as it is secure, reliable, affordable and betters human lives,″ he wrote.
That is the correct way to look at America’s energy picture, especially where nuclear energy is concerned. As I’m continually pointing out, we solve today’s problems with tomorrow’s technology, and nuclear power is an essential part of our energy future: a clean, reliable, high-density energy source that meets the needs of our modern, high-tech lifestyle.
Best of all, as the AP complains, Wright has not bought the claims of climate scolds.
Wright has frequently criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate change by liberal and left-wing groups. He argues that the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”
That’s another good recommendation. Someone in charge of America’s energy portfolio must be focused on facts, not Chicken Little scenarios.
Previously on RedState: NEW: Trump Taps Fracking Exec As Next Energy Secretary
Hit Piece on Trump’s Energy Secretary Ends Up Sounding More Like Over-the-Top Praise
And, of course, if he adheres to this campaign promise, the newly-re-inaugurated President Trump should place on Secretary Wright one primary task: Hand over what few essential purposes (e.g., leasing) the Department of Energy has to the Department of the Interior, send all the bureaucrats home, lock the doors, and sell the building. There is no constitutional authorization for the Department of Energy and we got along fine without it until 1977. We can get along fine without it again.
Chris Wright’s confirmation hearings are currently scheduled for Wednesday, January 15th. Stay tuned.
This seems appropriate.
