The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking firm Liberty Power, to steer the Power Division.
The vote was 59-38. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) in addition to impartial Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to substantiate him.
Lawmakers on either side of the aisle indicated help for his nomination throughout his affirmation listening to, and he sailed out of committee on a 15-5 vote.
“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 stated throughout Wright’s affirmation listening to. “His first years of working were in solar. He has experience in wind.”
However, Wright has additionally stoked some controversy over previous feedback downplaying local weather change’s connections to excessive climate.
Nonetheless, through the listening to, he acknowledged that local weather change is occurring, saying it’s “a global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue.”
Now that he’s confirmed, Wright will run a division that oversees vitality analysis and loans, in addition to the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
He gave vital monetary contributions to Trump’s reelection marketing campaign, giving two donations of $175,000 and $53,990 to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee, which allocates funds to the Trump marketing campaign, the Republican Nationwide Committee and different political committees.
Up to date at 6:48 pm EST.
