Wright is a strong advocate of oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Chris Wright , a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in a second Trump administration.
Wright, CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, is a strong advocate of oil and gas development , including hydraulic fracturing, a key element in Trump’s effort to achieve U.S. “energy hegemony” in the global marketplace.
Wright has won the support of influential conservatives, including oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm. Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources, a major shale oil company based in Oklahoma, has been a longtime Trump supporter and adviser and played a key role on energy issues during Trump’s first term.
Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April at which the president-elect reportedly urged industry leaders and boosters to donate $1 billion to his campaign, with the expectation that Trump would roll back environmental regulations if re-elected.
Wright has been one of the industry’s staunchest opponents of efforts to combat climate change and could push for pro-fossil fuel measures, including swift action to end a yearlong pause on natural gas export approvals imposed by the Biden administration.
Wright has criticized what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate change by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.”