The Senate voted to confirm oil executive Chris Wright Monday night to be President Donald Trump’s energy secretary, making him the latest Trump cabinet nominee to make it through the confirmation process.
The GOP-controlled chamber voted 59–38 to confirm Wright as energy secretary, giving the fracking tycoon a central role in the White House’s energy policy alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. He received support from all Republicans present and a few Democrats after making it out of committee 15–5 in January.
Wright will be tasked with overseeing the U.S. nuclear fleet and American energy research and infrastructure, making his office vital for fulfilling Trump’s promise of restoring energy dominance. Trump has also said that Burgum will lead a White House energy council, a body in which Wright would likely play an important role.
President Trump made unleashing American energy production a core promise of his campaign and signed multiple executive orders on Day One with that purpose in mind. He declared a national energy emergency and signed directives encouraging production on federal land and in Alaska specifically, to take full advantage of its abundant resources. Trump also temporarily paused offshore wind-farming leases and overturned the Biden administration’s onerous electric vehicle mandate.
At his confirmation hearing, Wright made clear that his priorities are expanding production, streamlining regulations, and fostering innovation in the energy sector in accordance with Trump’s goals.
“Energy has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I have never been shy about that fact. Then again, I have never been shy about much. President Trump shares my passion for energy and, if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable, and secure American energy,” Wright said.
Democratic Senator John Hicklenlooper (Colo.) introduced Wright at the confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee last month.
“He’s a scientist who has invested his life around energy. He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard, but he studied nuclear,” Hickenlooper said as he went through Wright’s extensive energy experience. Wright has worked in solar and wind energy, as well as geothermal energy and oil and gas.
Wright was previously the CEO of Liberty Energy, an oil and gas company that specializes in hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — a method of extracting oil and natural gas from rock formations. Fracking has played a significant role in increasing American energy production in the past decade.
Besides that, Wright sits on the board of a Oklo, a nuclear energy company and EMX Royalty, a mineral royalty firm. Wright has indicated that he will step away from his business and nonprofit roles upon confirmation. His 2.5 million shares of Liberty Energy are worth roughly $47 million based on the company’s stock price at the end of trading Monday.