Illinois Rep. Sean Casten is blasting President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to be the nation’s next energy secretary.
Wright has been a frequent critic of efforts to combat climate change and has been a proponent of the use of fracking to drill for oil and natural gas, according to the Associated Press.
Casten worked extensively in the energy sector prior to being elected to Congress, with legislation combatting climate change his top priority in elected office. In a statement Sunday, Casten blasted Wright’s work in the oil and gas industry when reacting to his selection as energy secretary.
“Chris Wright is a science-denying, self-serving, sanctimonious fracker who consistently puts the wants of energy producers over the needs of American energy consumers,” he said in a statement. “To put him in charge of the Department of Energy is to fulfill the dreams of every fossil fuel company who hopes to boost their profits by raising energy costs for Americans. This selection is bad news for anyone who hopes to decrease carbon emissions, see their gas bill go down, or pass a livable planet on to their children.”
Trump praised Wright as a leader who would encourage innovation by reducing bureaucratic red tape in Washington.
“As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,’” Trump said in a statement announcing Wright’s selection.
Trump has called climate change “one of the great scams of all time,” calling for increased drilling for oil and gas and promising to abolish incentives encouraging Americans to purchase hybrid or electric vehicles, according to The Guardian.
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He has also pledged to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change for a second time after President Joe Biden reentered the agreement during his administration.
This time around, the CEO’s of Exxon-Mobil and Shell have announced opposition to the idea, according to Fox News.
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"We believe climate change is real," Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a recent interview. "We believe that the world needs to go through an energy transition to prevent a very significant rise in global temperatures. And we need to be part of that solution in making it happen."
The Energy Department, founded in the 1970s, is dedicated to a variety of tasks, including regulating the energy industry in the United States, protecting the nation’s nuclear weapons and encouraging scientific development in energy production, according to its website.
Wright joins a growing list of Trump picks for Cabinet positions. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has been tabbed as Trump’s pick for attorney general, while Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth was selected to serve as defense secretary. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was picked as Trump’s secretary of state, while North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (Interior) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Homeland Security) also were slated for high-profile positions.
