What to know about Chris Wright, Trump’s choice to run the Energy Department

WASHINGTON — Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump’s choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elect’s quest for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, called Wright “an excellent choice” for energy secretary. Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group, also praised Wright, saying the group looks forward to working with him “to bolster American geopolitical strength” by lifting Biden’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring “open access” for American energy around the world. He argues that the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright “a champion of dirty fossil fuels” and said his nomination was “a disastrous mistake.” “The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century,” Wong said.