President-elect Donald Trump’s expected nominees for Interior and Energy secretary went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with key senators ahead of their confirmation processes.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to lead the Interior Department, sat down with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), incoming chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Burgum is also slated to be Trump’s energy czar and chair of the National Energy Council, a new administration panel Trump said he would form and include Wright.
“Great meeting with @DougBurgum and planning the return of American lands to the American people. His experience as governor of North Dakota will serve him well as Secretary of the Interior, and I look forward to working together,” Lee wrote on X.
Lee has long advocated for large swaths of federal lands to be given to states.
Sen. John Hoeven (R) said he’s helping his fellow North Dakotan arrange meetings with members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Hoeven, who sits on the panel himself, talks with Burgum “all the time,” he said. “I want to make sure that he’s being accommodative to members of the committee, so I’m trying to help him do that.”
Hoeven also took Burgum to the Senate GOP’s weekly conference lunch Tuesday.
Asked what Burgum said at the lunch, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “Energy dominance. That sounds good, coming from Texas.” Cornyn said he’s “all for” Burgum’s confirmation.
Energy pick Chris Wright met with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the lawmaker wrote on X, along with a photo of the two of them in his office.
“Under Chris’ leadership at DOE, we will unleash American energy and make energy affordable again,” Cassidy wrote.
Wright, currently the CEO of Liberty Energy, told reporters in the Capitol that he’s having “great dialogue” with senators.
No Republicans have expressed opposition to either planned nominee, though some Democrats have been highly critical of Wright for downplaying climate change science and due to his close ties to the fossil fuel industry. After the meeting, Cassidy said he was most struck by Wright’s strong support of natural gas.
“He understands that the reason that the U.S. now has lower emissions than we did in 1990, despite a bigger population, is because of natural gas,” Cassidy said. “So we had a great conversation about that.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a critical swing vote who is consistently harsh on the Interior Department under Democrats, said she has plans in place to meet with Burgum. Asked when the meeting will happen, Murkowski didn’t answer.
Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate next month and will be able to confirm nominees without any Democratic votes.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s incoming ranking member, plans to meet with Wright and Burgum in January.
“My first question is, is someone qualified? My second question is, are they supportive of or hostile to the mission of the agency they’ve been nominated for? And then, do they have the temperament for the job?” Heinrich said of his meeting plans.
“So I’m going to sit down with all the nominees and engage with them the same way I have engaged with nominees in the past.”
Alex Mistri, the head of government affairs at Hess Corp. and a former White House aide under President George W. Bush, is helping Burgum navigate the confirmation process as his “sherpa,” Hoeven said.
Megan Bloomgren, a former American Petroleum Institute executive and Interior official under Trump, said she is Wright’s media sherpa.
Reporters Emma Dumain, Nico Portuondo and Garrett Downs contributed.
