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WHAT TRUMP’S CABINET PICKS AND ADVISERS SAY ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE  
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Lisa Friedman
December 4, 2024
New York Times
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_ President-elect Donald Trump’s chief advisers would include one
person who calls global warming an “existential” threat and some
who don’t accept it as a problem at all. _

Lee Zeldin, Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection
Agency, is likely to scrap regulations limiting emissions from
automobiles, power plants and oil wells., ABC News

 

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet choices and key advisers
run the gamut from people who acknowledge the threat of climate change
to those who deny the scientific consensus that emissions from the
burning of fossil fuels are dangerously heating the planet.

But virtually all support Mr. Trump’s plan to extract more oil and
gas and erase environmental rules, which would exacerbate global
warming. And some who once acknowledged the problem now downplay the
danger.

Mr. Trump’s team is shaping up to be the polar opposite of President
Biden’s on environmental matters. Mr. Biden applied what he called a
“whole of government approach” to climate change, directing each
of his cabinet secretaries to prioritize the issue.

Mr. Trump, who mocks climate change, wants agencies across the federal
government to make it easier and more profitable for oil and gas
companies.

Here’s a sampling of how those picked for roles in Trump’s
administration view climate change and energy.

[A close-up of Elon Musk in a navy suit and tie. ]

Credit...Pool photo by Allison Robbert

Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency

Mr. Trump has said Mr. Musk will help lead a new panel to radically
restructure the government by cutting staff and budgets. Environmental
agencies are expected to be a chief target.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

We shouldn’t be complacent about changing the chemical constituency
of our atmosphere & oceans, but climate change definitely will not end
the world as we know it! If people keep pushing hard, humanity will
solve the sustainable energy problem in time. — Sept. 10,
2023, post on X [[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Musk has consistently acknowledged climate change and supported
clean energy. But he also has made conflicting statements, saying both
“we should bias toward sustainable energy” and “we don’t have
to rush” to renewables. The International Energy Agency disagrees,
and says that nations must quickly cut their emissions and transition
away from fossil fuels to meet climate goals.

[Raising his right hand in a gesture, Vivek Ramaswamy is speaking to a
group and wearing a blue suit and tie. ]

Credit...Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency

Mr. Ramaswamy, a onetime Republican presidential hopeful, will oversee
along with Mr. Musk the paring down of government spending.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

ABC News: “Do you believe in climate change?”

Mr. Ramaswamy: “Well, I think that with due respect, I’ve talked
about this in other forums, ‘Do you believe in climate change?’ is
not really a meaningful question, because climate change has existed
as long as the Earth has existed. Do I believe it is a fact that
global surface temperatures are rising over the course of the last
century and the last half century? Yes, I think that that is an
established trend.”

ABC News: “As president, would you do anything to try to buck that
trend?”

Mr. Ramaswamy: “No is the answer.” — ABC News interview
[[link removed]],
September 2023

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Ramaswamy has accused climate activists who want the country to
move away from fossil fuels of trying to “shackle” America to let
China “catch up to the United States economically.”

 

[Marco Rubio is dressed in a navy suit and red tie. ]

Credit...Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Marco Rubio, State Department

As secretary of state, Mr. Rubio would represent the United States in
international climate negotiations, which are designed to persuade
countries to cut emissions.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“The climate has always been changing, and no matter what, we have
to mitigate against it. No matter how well you think you know the
causation.” — July 2021 New York Times interview

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

When he was seeking his Senate seat in 2010, Mr. Rubio denied
[[link removed]] climate
change. Around 2018, Mr. Rubio took the position that global warming
was real, without acknowledging that fossil fuels are the top driver,
and said problems like sea level rise require that places like his
home state of Florida adapt. He has rejected policies that would
reduce fossil fuel use in the United States and has said there is
nothing the United States could do to convince China, the world’s
top greenhouse gas polluter, to emit less.

[A man is wearing a blue pinstriped suit, a rep tie and a blue striped
shirt. His hair is greased back.]

Credit...Aaron Schwartz/EPA, via Shutterstock

Pete Hegseth, Defense Department

Under the Biden administration, the Pentagon elevated climate as a
national security issue and has aimed to reduce the military’s
energy use. The agency manages military facilities and other
installations that are vulnerable to rising seas and other effects of
climate change.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“Whether it’s hot or cold, the enemy is here, as far as liberals
are concerned. And it’s all about control for them. That’s why
climate change is the perfect enemy. They get to control your life to
deal with it, no matter what’s happening.” — “Fox &
Friends,”
[[link removed]] 2019

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Hegseth does not appear to have taken a firm position on the
science of climate change, but has repeatedly framed the issue as a
political ploy.

[A dark-haired woman in a black blazer, white shirt and a pearl lapel
pin is smiling in front of an American flag.]

Credit...Pool photo by Allison Robbert

Elise Stefanik, U.N. Ambassador

The ambassador helps steer the American position on a multitude of
climate resolutions at the United Nations, and would potentially play
a role in deciding whether the United States continues to participate
in global climate discussions.

WHAT SHE HAS SAID:

“Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is misguided, and harms the
ongoing effort to fight climate change while also isolating us from
our allies.” — 2017 statement
[[link removed]]

“Americans have had enough of Joe Biden and far-left Democrats’
anti-American energy policies.” — March 20, 2024, statement
[[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Early in Ms. Stefanik’s tenure in the House representing upstate New
York, she supported some environmental initiatives, including the 2015
Paris Agreement, the international climate accord that Mr. Trump
exited and Mr. Biden rejoined. She voted in favor of halting oil
drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and protecting
funding for the Environmental Protection Agency. Her political profile
shifted as she entered Mr. Trump’s orbit, and Ms. Stefanik’s
recent comments and voting record
[[link removed]] indicate she now
supports fossil fuel expansion.

[A man in a dark suit and red and blue striped tie is standing at a
microphone with bright lights shining on him. ]

Credit...Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency

The Biden administration has used the E.P.A. to advance its climate
agenda, limiting emissions from automobiles, power plants and oil
wells. Mr. Zeldin is likely to scrap those regulations.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“I think that there is more of an awareness and a willingness to
recognize that climate change is real, and Congress is more and more
open-minded toward identifying those solutions.” — 2016 interview
[[link removed]] in “Years of Living
Dangerously,” a documentary television series

“There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been
advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to
go in the wrong direction.” — Nov. 11, 2024, Fox News interview

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Zeldin is a former House member from New York whose positions on
climate appear to have shifted. Mr. Zeldin often noted that his Long
Island district was surrounded by water and backed measures to make
coastal areas more resilient. When he unsuccessfully ran for governor
in 2022, though, he called for reversing New York’s ban on hydraulic
fracking. He has promised as E.P.A. chief to support Mr. Trump’s
“energy dominance” agenda.

[A man in a tuxedo and a black bow tie is talking, with an ornate
staircase in the background.]

Credit...Carlos Barria/Reuters

Doug Burgum, Interior Department

The secretary of the interior will oversee where, whether and how
quickly companies can drill for oil and gas on federal lands and
waters, and decide whether renewable energy projects can get access to
those same public spaces.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

CNN: “A new analysis that was released this week by a global group
of scientists found extreme heat waves across three continents this
month were made significantly more likely by the human-caused climate
crisis. Do you agree humans are to blame for what’s happening?”

Burgum: “Well, I know the climate is changing, we know that. And
I’ll tell you in North Dakota, we’re the only state that set a
goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. But we’re not doing it with a
bunch of regulations. We said we can get there through no new
mandates, no new regulations, all through innovation. And that’s
happening in North Dakota right now. And again, I think if people want
to have a discussion, if they think CO2’s the cause, then let’s
get serious about what we can to reduce that. Again, there’s all
kinds of things we can do that are more effective than the crazy plans
that are in place now.” — CNN interview
[[link removed]], July 2023

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

As governor of North Dakota, home to the oil and gas-rich Bakken
Formation, Mr. Burgum has close ties to industry leaders including
Harold G. Hamm, the billionaire founder and chairman of Continental
Resources. During the presidential campaign, Mr. Burgum served as an
unofficial liaison between Mr. Trump and oil and gas executives.

[A man in a black suit, white shirt and dark tie is pointing as he
stands in the middle of a crowd on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange.]

Credit...Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Chris Wright, Energy Department

The Energy Department oversees energy research, determines gas export
approvals and manages the nation’s nuclear stockpile. During the
Biden administration, it has advanced clean energy research,
development and deployment.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“We have seen no increase in the frequency or intensity of
hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or floods despite endless
fear-mongering of the media, politicians and activists.” — 2023
LinkedIn video [[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

As the chief executive of a fracking services company, Mr. Wright has
made a fortune from gas and oil. He has described fossil fuels as a
solution to poverty. His nomination was supported by Mr. Hamm, the oil
billionaire.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dressed in a gray suit, white shirt and navy
tie, is smiling broadly.]

Credit...Carlos Barria/Reuters

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Department

Under Mr. Biden, H.H.S. created the Office of Climate Change and
Health Equity, focusing on the impacts of climate change on human
health.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“I believe that climate change is existential.” — April 2024 New
York Times interview

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Kennedy acknowledges global warming but said that “this crisis
is being used as a pretext for clamping down totalitarian controls.”
He said in an interview that the environmental movement should focus
on issues like reducing toxic chemicals, protecting biodiversity and
supporting regenerative farming, which he said were “much more
appealing to the public.” In announcing Mr. Kennedy would join the
administration, Mr. Trump told him “you can’t touch our liquid
gold,” referring to oil.

 

[A man in a black tuxedo is smiling. He has very white teeth.]

Credit...George Walker Iv/Associated Press

Sean Duffy, Transportation Department

The Transportation Department under Mr. Biden has sought ways to
reduce emissions from transportation, the segment of the American
economy that is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

“If you say the climate’s changing, is it coming from CO2 or is it
coming from the sun? Where is — why is the climate changing? And
then you would say, let’s have a rigorous debate about what is
causing it, or what are all the factors that bring us to climate
change? And when you have the left that says ‘we’re gonna shut
down alternative science or science that challenges our narrative,’
I think it makes people go ‘maybe there is a different set of
priorities here as opposed to climate change, maybe it actually is an
agenda of control.’” — Nov. 11, 2024, Fox Business Live
[[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin and more recently a
Fox Business co-host. He once criticized former President Barack Obama
for discussing climate change in the winter
[[link removed]].

[A man wearing glasses and a navy suit, blue checked shirt and a green
tie stands before a microphone. ]

Credit...Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Scott Bessent, Treasury Department

The Treasury Department is responsible for regulations guiding the
$390 billion in subsidies and tax breaks for clean energy that have
been provided under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

WHAT HE HAS SAID:

The Inflation Reduction Act is “the doomsday machine for the
deficit.” Financial Times, Oct. 13, 2024
[[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Mr. Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire, has said he believes boosting
fossil fuel production, along with cutting taxes and regulations,
would increase wages for working people. “We’re also going to have
a massive deregulatory program, and we’re going to have energy
dominance, so cheap energy, deregulation and a low tax rate —
what’s better than that?” he told Fox Business in October.

[A woman with long, dark hair and a cream-colored cape and pantsuit
walks onto a stage decorated with American flags.]

Credit...Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Department

Among its many responsibilities, the Department of Agriculture
develops scientific assessments of how climate change affects crops
and livestock, and also manages programs to help address the impacts
of global warming.

WHAT SHE’S SAID:

“There’s been no warming in over 17 years. So all of this
discussion about shutting down certain parts of our energy industry is
nothing short of a disaster for the economy.” — 2014 Texas Public
Policy Foundation event [[link removed]]

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW:

Ms. Rollins leads the America First Policy Institute, which was formed
by former officials from the first Trump administration and promotes
[[link removed]] oil
and gas development. She was also president and chief executive of the
Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative group
funded by oil and gas companies and Republican donors that
has attacked
[[link removed]] climate
policies.

_Lisa Friedman is a reporter covering climate policy and politics at
The New York Times._

* Climate Change
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* Trump nominees
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* Climate Deniers
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