WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the Republican-led Senate’s vote to confirm Chris Wright as U.S. Energy Secretary, Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk released the following statement:

“The choice of Chris Wright to run the powerful Energy Department was based on what’s best for the bottom line of Donald Trump’s big oil megadonors, not everyday consumers and workers. With his Project 2025 ties and financial stakes in the big oil and nuclear industry, Wright is just the wealthy insider Trump needs to carry out his plans for padding profits of energy special interests – even if it means higher prices at the pump. And with Wright’s company’s history of violating workplace safety standards and anti-discrimination laws, he’s now in the driver’s seat to sweep such problems under the rug for his industry friends.” 

BACKGROUND: 

Conflicts Of Interest With Energy Companies

  • Chris Wright is a member of the board of Oklo nuclear company and has business before the Department of Energy.
  • Oklo’s application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was previously denied due to a lack of information about accidents and safety.
  • Chris Wright claims he will step down from the board, but questions remain about whether he will fairly regulate and ensure accountability from energy industries when he has spent so much of his career working for and serving on the boards of oil and gas and nuclear energy companies.  

Project 2025

  • Wright has been on the board of the Western Energy Alliance, an oil industry trade group that authored many of Project 2025’s oil and gas provisions. 
  • Chris Wright has been a member of the board of Western Energy Alliance (WEA)
  • WEA is an oil industry trade group. 
  • WEA’s president authored the oil and gas provisions of Project 2025.
  • Project 2025 would eliminate “key offices at the DOE, including the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, the Office of Grid Deployment, and the Loan Programs Office.”

Workplace Safety and Racial Harassment

  • Questions remain whether Wright will look the other way when energy companies violate safety standards and anti-discrimination laws, considering his company, Liberty Energy, was frequently fined over workplace safety standards and paid $265,000 to settle lawsuits from black and Hispanic employees who faced hostile work environment and were called slurs. 
  • Under Chris Wright’s leadership, Liberty Energy has faced at least three separate penalties for workplace and safety violations since 2023. 
  • Liberty Energy, in 2024, paid $265,000 to settle an EEOC discrimination lawsuit after black and Hispanic field mechanics faced racial harassment. 

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