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Trump energy pick Wright grilled on climate history

Fracking CEO Chris Wright is on track to be the nation’s next energy secretary despite a few tense moments during his confirmation hearing.

© AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.

The tension largely centered around climate change. Wright acknowledges that the planet is warming, but has downplayed the phenomenon’s connection to extreme weather.

Nevertheless, even some Democrats expressed support for his nomination, including Sen. John Hickenlooper (Colo.), who introduced Wright at the start of the hearing.

“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. “His first years of working were in solar. He has experience in wind. He is a practitioner and a key innovator around geothermal.”

“I have high optimism we can work together,” Hickenlooper added.

Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based fracking technology company. He’s poised to run the Energy Department, which oversees energy research and loans, as well as the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) posed tough questions to Wright over some of his past comments, particularly a Linkedin post in which Wright wrote: “The hype over wildfires is just hype to justify more impoverishment from bad government policies.”

Padilla asked: “Given the devastation that we’re currently experiencing in Los Angeles, do you still believe that wildfires are just hype?”

“I stand by my past comment,” Wright said in response but also said that “climate change is a real and global phenomenon.”

“Tell that to the families of the more than two dozen lost in these fires,” Padilla retorted.

Read more at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

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