November 2024 marks the hottest on record for eastern U.S. residents in places like New York, Vermont and even Maine, who are experiencing weather that might have been considered fitting for summer just a few decades ago. Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Chris Wright, a senior figure in the oil and gas industry and a climate change skeptic, as his energy secretary.
Wright is the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based drilling company. He is expected to back Trump's agenda to maximize oil and gas production and explore ways to boost electricity output, which is seeing rising demand for the first time in decades.
Last year, Wright shared a video on his LinkedIn profile declaring, " There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition, either." He labeled climate activists as "hysterical" and likened Democratic efforts to combat global warming to Soviet-style communism. He has also written extensively about the need for increased fossil fuel production "to lift people out of poverty."
Wright’s appointment isn’t surprising, as Trump raised hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from the oil and gas industry and pledged to free it from regulations, despite the U.S. reaching record-high oil production under U.S. President Joe Biden.
Though Wright has no political experience, his style aligns with Trump’s. In 2019, he famously drank a liquid used in drilling on camera to prove it wasn’t harmful. He will replace outgoing energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, an advocate for electric vehicles and green energy.
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump withrdrawing from Paris Climate Agreement in 2017
(Photo: AFP)
Trump also announced that one of his personal attorneys, Will Scharf, will serve as White House chief of staff. Scharf, a former federal prosecutor, was part of Trump’s legal team in his successful bid to secure broad immunity from the Supreme Court.
The day after Trump’s victory, Scharf tweeted “Bye Jack,” referring to special counsel Jack Smith, who is concluding investigations against Trump.
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