Five people to watch on energy, environmental issues in the new year

Energy and climate are expected to be divisive issues in 2025 as President-elect Trump, backed by GOP majorities in both the House and Senate, looks to expand U.S. energy development while congressional Democrats worried about the effect on global warming seek to stymie him.

Here are five figures likely to make headlines on energy and environmental issues in 2025.

Energy czar and Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum

As chair of a new National Energy Council, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) is set to broadly coordinate the incoming administration's energy agenda. If confirmed to lead the Interior Department, he also likely would oversee an increase in oil and gas drilling on federal lands, marking a sharp contrast to the department's outgoing secretary, Deb Haaland, who has been a major ally within the Biden administration to environmentalists. 

North Dakota is the No. 3 state nationwide for crude oil production. He was a high-profile Trump surrogate during the 2024 campaign and reportedly was a vice presidential contender. One of the president-elect’s less controversial nominees, he is unlikely to see obstacles to his confirmation.

Energy secretary nominee Chris Wright

Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking giant Liberty Energy, similarly is likely to carry out policy that echoes Trump’s support of the fossil fuel industry if confirmed to lead the Energy Department.

President Biden's Energy Department, under Secretary Jennifer Granholm, has heavily promoted renewable energy development and expansion of electric vehicles, two frequent targets of Trump's. The department is likely to abandon those efforts under Wright. 

However, many of the renewable-energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature legislative package, have found unlikely defenders among the House GOP caucus, suggesting Wright may face some resistance if the administration seeks to unwind them as expected. 

Wright also appears unlikely to face meaningful opposition to his confirmation in the incoming Republican-majority Senate.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator nominee Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin distinguished himself during Trump's first term as one of the president's most loyal defenders in Congress, serving on his defense during his first impeachment trial, and he is likely to take a similar approach to backing Trump's agenda as part of his incoming administration.

This likely would include rolling back many of his predecessor Michael Regan’s policies, like the first Trump EPA did with Obama-era rules.

Zeldin, who represented New York’s 1st Congressional District in the House before resigning to run for governor in 2022, did not have an extensive environmental profile before Trump nominated him to lead the EPA, but he also has prompted little controversy ahead of his confirmation.

Sen.-elect John Curtis

Sen.-elect John Curtis (R-Utah), who easily won the Senate race in deep-red Utah to succeed Sen. Mitt Romney (R) after beating a Trump-backed candidate in the primaries, appears poised to play a key role in any potential bipartisan work on climate issues in the 119th Congress.

In the House, where he has represented Utah's 3rd District since 2017, Curtis was the founder of the Conservative Climate Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers who acknowledge the threat of climate change but favor free-market solutions. 

He also co-sponsored a bipartisan bill in the lower chamber with Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) that called for a federal study of the effects of an import tax based on carbon intensity. That bill was similar to a proposal from one of Curtis’s new colleagues, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), suggesting Curtis could be a notable player on climate in the next Congress, though the Republican majorities likely will be more focused on promoting energy development than efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Rep. Jared Huffman

As Democrats figure out their next steps after 2024’s electoral losses, many of the party’s younger leaders have called for leadership shakeups in Congress, and several have mounted challenges to more-senior committee leaders. 

One of the first Democrats to announce such a challenge was Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who made a bid for leadership of the House Natural Resources Committee against incumbent ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). Grijalva, who is retiring in 2027, initially said he would seek another term, but he withdrew shortly after and endorsed Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). Stansbury withdrew amid overwhelming support for Huffman, who was formally voted ranking member this week. 

In the role, Huffman will put the effectiveness of the leadership shakeups to the test, particularly on issues such as environmental justice and renewable energy, where Trump is likely to seek to undo much of the party’s work of the past four years.