Senate Republicans are moving ahead with a Wednesday confirmation hearing for Energy secretary nominee Chris Wright, who is expected to face tough questions about natural gas, energy demand and costs, and climate change.
The fate of Department of Energy grants and loans to advance energy technology during President Joe Biden’s four years remains uncertain as President-elect Donald Trump closes in on Inauguration Day. Trump adviser, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has proposed a $2 trillion haircut to the federal budget. That could mean an effort to claw back federal financing of clean energy projects.
Wright and Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary, James Danly, support policies that would keep U.S. oil and natural gas America’s primary fuel sources. But it’s unclear the extent to which they would support efforts to gut the department by closing offices that are helping to advance nuclear power and battery technology, expand the grid or deploy more solar power.
Wright, founder and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, and Danly, who was on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the first Trump administration, are expected to make it through their confirmations. Still, both will draw tough questions from Democrats and some Republicans who have interests in preserving DOE programs. DOE spending in recent years has driven new energy projects that are likely to boost local economies.
