Trump's energy 'dream team': Chris Wright and Doug Burgum's potential to-do list
President-elect Trump has tapped two energy czars to oversee the expansion of American energy in his second term, and the industry has already handed the incoming administration and Congress a wish list of what they would like to see as the top priorities of leadership's agenda.
On Friday, the incoming commander-in-chief announced in a press release that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will not only be his nominee for Secretary of the Department of Interior, but will head up a new National Energy Council, which "which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy."
Then on Saturday, Trump named Liberty Energy founder and CEO Chris Wright as his pick to lead the Department of Energy, noting that Wright will also serve on the National Energy Council.
ENERGY HAS BECOME ‘MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IT NEEDS TO BE,’ SAYS FORMER TRUMP ENERGY HEAD
"He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas," Trump's statement said. "Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics."
In reaction to the selections, American Conservation Coalition (ACC) President Christopher Barnard said the combination of Burgum and Wright "is literally the dream team."
Trump made energy independence and bolstering oil and gas production a cornerstone of his campaign. While on the campaign trail, he pledged to expand fracking and lift a pause on liquefied natural gas exports, a sharp contrast from the Biden administration.
TESLA STOCK JUMPS ON REPORT TRUMP PLANS TO EASE REGULATIONS AROUND SELF-DRIVING CARS
The president-elect has also vowed to use his second White House term to exit the Paris climate accord again, undo strict emissions standards for vehicles and power plants and bolster production of U.S. oil and gas, including through fracking.
Those planks on his energy platform appear to align well with the priorities of the American Petroleum Institute, which released a policy roadmap in an open letter to the incoming president and Congress last week, listing top priorities to address in 2025 and beyond aimed at securing American energy leadership.
While Trump's freshly-minted energy nominees have not yet released their to-do lists, API President & CEO Mike Sommers told FOX Business there are specific actions the administration can take to right the ship in Trump’s second term.
"As Governor of a top production state, Doug Burgum has demonstrated a keen understanding of the importance of harnessing America’s energy advantage," Sommers said. "We look forward to working with him once confirmed to implement a pro-American approach to federal energy leasing, starting with developing a new five-year offshore leasing program and removing barriers to onshore leasing to fully leverage our nation’s natural resources."
Sommers said API also looks forward to working with Wright, once he is confirmed, "to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOE’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world."
API’s 5-point policy plan outlines the industry's priorities for the administration and Republican-controlled House and Senate, including:
Protecting consumer choice
HOW TRUMP'S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE COULD IMPACT THE AUTO INDUSTRY
Bolstering America’s geopolitical strength
Leveraging our natural resources
Reforming our permitting system
Advancing sensible tax policy
Phil Flynn, an energy market analyst and FOX Business contributor, says the most important thing is that the Trump administration "bring back sanity" to U.S. energy policy that was, in his view, lacking under the Bidena administration, saying that clarity and vision is what the U.S. oil and gas industry crave.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
He agrees with several points of API's propriety list, and added, "We need to send a message that the Trump administration will not favor one energy source over another, but encourage all forms of energy produced in a clean and efficient way."
FOX News' Emma Colton and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.