This week, President-elect Donald J. Trump unveiled who he is tapping for coveted Cabinet positions in his second administration. While much of the focus has been on his national security and law enforcement picks, the three nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Interior (DOI), and Department of Energy (DOE), respectively, are pretty solid and non-controversial.
These three departments have deviated from their mission statements over the past four years by prioritizing net-zero decarbonization goals, climate alarmism, environmental justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over energy development and true conservation practices.
All three selected nominees will have to clean up the mess left by their predecessors. Here’s a snapshot of Trump’s EPA, DOI, and DOE picks.
Lee Zeldin - EPA Administrator
Trump selected Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman, to head the EPA. The EPA became weaponized and politicized under Democratic administrations, especially the outgoing Biden-Harris administration. Zeldin will need to ensure property rights are respected, initiate our exit from the Paris Climate Accords again, stop funding wasteful and ineffective environmental justice grants, and investigate wrongdoing following the East Palestine train derailment response.
“We will accomplish all this while conserving our environment, protecting access to clean air and water, and keeping the American people healthy. I look forward to contributing to President Trump’s agenda to build a more prosperous future for our nation,” Zeldin said of his nomination.
While Zeldin isn’t a typical pick for EPA Administrator, he isn’t a climate alarmist. He criticized New York’s “lofty climate goals” in a Fox News op-ed.
Zeldin will also be responsible for revoking the EPA’s tailpipe rule—also known as the electric vehicle mandate—for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
Doug Burgum - Interior Secretary
Doug Burgum at Interior shouldn’t surprise anyone. He’s been loyal to Trump this campaign season and was floated as someone who’ll play a major role in energy policies. He hails from a Western state, knows oil and gas, and is an avid bow hunter. While DOI might be known for overseeing federal onshore and offshore energy leases, it manages public lands - including National Parks, mining rights, Native American affairs, and much more.
While Burgum had supported controversial pipelines and made North Dakota carbon-neutral at one point, he was never against fossil fuels. Some grassroots conservatives might be skeptical about his ties to Bill Gates and his one-time support of Fufeng Group’s purchase of a corn mill near Grand Forks Air Force Base. Yet, it’s assumed he and the president-elect have an understanding not to follow net-zero climate dogmatism or sell public lands to China, other foreign adversaries, or corporations.
Mr. Burgum will also chair the newly formed National Energy Council. The president-elect described the commission as follows: “This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”
I’m thrilled that Mr. Burgum will not pal around with park ranger drag queens, tolerate eco-grief sessions, or alienate hunters and anglers. And no environmentalists, Burgum will not sell public lands to the highest bidder or orchestrate the destruction of our National Parks.
Mr. Burgum will likely support Trump’s signature law, the Great American Outdoors Act. This law permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) through offshore oil and gas royalties and effectively addresses the current $23 billion park maintenance backlog.
Chris Wright - Energy Secretary
On Saturday, President-elect Trump announced that Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright would oversee the Department of Energy and assist Mr. Burgum with the newly formed National Energy Council.
Mr. Wright is credited with leading the American shale boom of the 2000s and, once confirmed, will be the first energy industry worker to serve this post officially. Here’s what Wright said on his nomination to DOE: “I am honored and grateful for the opportunity from @realDonaldTrump to serve our country as U.S. Secretary of Energy. My dedication to bettering human lives remains steadfast, focusing on making American energy more affordable, reliable, and secure. Energy is the lifeblood that makes everything in life possible. Energy matters.
I am looking forward to getting to work.”
Wright’s selection will rightfully irk net-zero proponents. Three years ago, Wright and his company launched a campaign rebuking lefty outdoor retailer North Face for denying a corporate jacket order for Innovex Downhole Solutions.
“There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” the Liberty Energy CEO declared in a LinkedIn video last year.
He’s a pro-fossil fuel humanist, fracker, and supporter of nuclear energy—an energy source regulated by his future workplace. I hope Mr. Wright will convince the president-elect to support nuclear energy and small modular reactors (SMRs). They are the only viable, scalable clean energy source.
Additionally, Wright will terminate the Biden-Harris administration’s War on Household Appliances by not deferring to “green” energy efficiency standards