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Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a longtime member of Charles Koch’s political donor network
| From | Energy and Policy Institute <[email protected]> |
| Subject | Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a longtime member of Charles Koch’s political donor network |
| Date | January 15, 2025 1:09 PM |
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** Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a longtime member of Charles Koch’s political donor network ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
By Dave Anderson on Jan 14, 2025 07:30 pm
Chris Wright, the founder and CEO of the fracking services company Liberty Energy and Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy, co-authored a 2014 op-ed with his wife, Elizabeth, in which the Colorado couple wrote, “we proudly stand with the Kochs.”
The Wrights’ op-ed ([link removed]) , which ran in the Denver Post, responded to a press release from Democrat Mark Udall’s U.S. Senate campaign that said ([link removed]) the “Gardner-Koch agenda” would trap “Colorado families in poverty.”
At the time, Udall was running to defend his seat in the Senate against Republican Corey Gardner. Gardner won the race and served in the Senate until he was defeated by John Hicklooper in 2020.
“Such attacks are directed at everyone who supports the same causes as the Kochs, including the two of us,” the Wrights wrote in their op-ed. “These attacks are blatantly false. We want nothing more than to help the least fortunate.”
The Wrights have long been part of the network of political donors that is now led by Charles Koch and his son Chase. Charles is the CEO of Koch Industries, a privately held corporation operating in a variety of industrial sectors, including oil and gas exploration, pipelines and refining, chemical and fertilizer production. Charles’ brother David helped lead the Koch network until he died in 2019.
The Kochs have long opposed ([link removed]) the federal minimum wage and sought to limit funding ([link removed]) for energy efficiency programs that benefit low-income households, through their flagship advocacy group Americans for Prosperity. The Koch network is also known for spending millions of dollars annually funding climate denial groups ([link removed]) that oppose renewable energy ([link removed]) .
** The Wrights have contributed $165,000 to Koch-controlled Super PACs since 2014
------------------------------------------------------------
The 2014 Denver Post op-ed described the Wrights as supporters of the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce (now known as the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce ([link removed]) ), a 501(c)(6) industry association spearheaded by Charles Koch ([link removed]) .
The Wright Family Living Trust, located at the Wrights’ home address in Englewood, Colorado, contributed $15,000 ([link removed]) in 2014 to Freedom Partners Action Fund, an affiliated Super PAC of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce. The Super PAC spent ([link removed]) millions to oppose Udall and support Gardner during the 2014 Senate race.
The Wrights’ op-ed was part of a broader media campaign by donors to the Koch network ([link removed]) in response to increased public scrutiny ([link removed]) of the network’s political spending and influence ([link removed]) .
Chris Wright later contributed $100,000 to Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, the Koch-backed Super PAC that spent $178 million ([link removed]) backing Republicans during the 2024 election. Wright contributed the money to AFP Action in December of 2023, just a few days after the Super PAC endorsed Nikki Haley ([link removed]) over Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primaries.
State chapters of AFP ([link removed]) are now signaling their newfound affinity for President-elect Trump by hosting inaugural watch parties ([link removed]) on January 20.
Liz Wright contributed money ([link removed]) to Haley’s campaign in November 2023. Chris donated money ([link removed]) to the presidential campaign of North Dakota’s Republican Governor, Doug Burgum, that summer. Burgum is now Trump’s pick for Secretary of Interior.
After Trump secured the GOP nomination last year, the Wrights contributed ([link removed]) approximately $458,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, plus $289,000 to the RNC.
Liberty Energy is listed as a sponsor ([link removed]) of an upcoming Trump inaugural watch party in D.C., which will be hosted by oil and gas producer Harold Hamm, the CEO of Continental Resources. Hamm helped Trump raise millions of dollars during the 2024 election and then backed Wright for Secretary of Energy ([link removed]) shortly before Trump announced Wright ([link removed]) as his pick for the position in November.
The Wright Family Living Trust also contributed $50,000 in 2018 to the Freedom Partners Action Fund ([link removed]) , which spent $9 million ([link removed]) supporting Republicans during the 2018 election cycle.
In 2016, the Charles Koch Foundation and the Wrights contributed $3.69 million and $500,000 ([link removed]) , respectively, to help launch the Eudaimonia Institute to study “human flourishing” at Wake Forest University. The funding was opposed by faculty at the university ([link removed]) . An investigation ([link removed]) by the faculty senate found the Institute’s lack of transparency around its donor agreement with the Koch Foundation to be “deeply concerning.”
** Chris Wright transformed from a Never Trumper into a Trump donor before becoming Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy
------------------------------------------------------------
While the Wrights’ contributions to federal Super PACs controlled by the Koch network are publicly reported in campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the tax-exempt nonprofits ([link removed]) that form much of the sprawling Koch network are not required to disclose their donors in their annual tax filings with the IRS. But Chris and Liz Wright have not been shy about aligning themselves publicly with the Koch Network. Their presence at multiple Koch network donor summits over the years has been documented by reporters on several occasions.
“Terrible and truly awful are the two choices,” Chris Wright said in 2016 of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at a Koch network gathering in Colorado, according to Bloomberg ([link removed]) .
“We’re not going to give any money to support Donald Trump,” Wright also said.
The comments show how Chris was a Never Trumper eight years before he was tapped to serve in Trump’s next administration. Liz also told USA Today ([link removed]) that she’d voted for the Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2016.
Wright’s comments echoed ([link removed]) Charles Koch’s decision not to use the network’s money to directly support Trump in 2016, an election cycle where the network initially planned to spend nearly $1 billion ([link removed]) , yet still spent heavily to help other Republican candidates.
“Our suspicion is we’re going to get three parts good and one part bad,” Chris Wright said ([link removed]) about Trump at a Koch summit in California in January 2017. “We’re worried about the one part bad.”
Later that year, the Wrights described ([link removed]) the Trump presidency and Republican control of Congress as a rare opportunity to enact the Koch network’s priorities at another donor gathering in Colorado.
Chris leveraged his Koch network connections to provide information to those close to Trump. In May 2017, Chris sent Doug Deason, a Trump advisor and Koch network donor, an email ([link removed]) with “Re: EPA Science Advisory Committee” in the subject line and provided his bio, cell phone number, and a link to a presentation he gave on climate change.
Deason then shared Wright’s email with Ryan Jackson, EPA chief of staff. Deason wrote that he had met Wright “at Koch Seminars in California several years ago” and described how the two had gone skiing together and become friends. The emails were originally obtained by the Sierra Club and are publicly available at ToxicDocs.org ([link removed]) .
Deason also forwarded Jackson another email ([link removed]) from Wright that linked to an op-ed he wrote in 2014 downplaying the threat posed by global warming.
Trump-aligned and Koch-backed Project 2025 groups ([link removed]) like the Heritage Foundation ([link removed]) and Texas Public Policy Foundation ([link removed]) have endorsed Wright’s bid to become Trump’s Secretary of Energy ([link removed]) .
Democratic senators on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, have called for Wright’s confirmation hearing to be postponed ([link removed]) because copies of Wright’s FBI background check, financial disclosure, and ethics forms have not been provided to the committee.
Wright’s confirmation hearing is currently scheduled ([link removed]) for 10 AM on Wednesday, January 14.
Top image is a screenshot from a 2019 Facebook video ([link removed]) of Chris Wright drinking fracking fluid that was posted online by Liberty Energy
The post Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a longtime member of Charles Koch’s political donor network ([link removed]) appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ([link removed]) .
Read in browser » ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed]
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** Report: Utilities charge customers for lobbying, corporate branding, and luxury lifestyle expenses ([link removed])
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** Duke Energy utilities long knew of climate change risks before joining denial campaigns ([link removed])
** CenterPoint lobbyist ghostwrote comments to support gas appliance rebates ([link removed]
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By Dave Anderson on Jan 14, 2025 07:30 pm
Chris Wright, the founder and CEO of the fracking services company Liberty Energy and Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy, co-authored a 2014 op-ed with his wife, Elizabeth, in which the Colorado couple wrote, “we proudly stand with the Kochs.”
The Wrights’ op-ed ([link removed]) , which ran in the Denver Post, responded to a press release from Democrat Mark Udall’s U.S. Senate campaign that said ([link removed]) the “Gardner-Koch agenda” would trap “Colorado families in poverty.”
At the time, Udall was running to defend his seat in the Senate against Republican Corey Gardner. Gardner won the race and served in the Senate until he was defeated by John Hicklooper in 2020.
“Such attacks are directed at everyone who supports the same causes as the Kochs, including the two of us,” the Wrights wrote in their op-ed. “These attacks are blatantly false. We want nothing more than to help the least fortunate.”
The Wrights have long been part of the network of political donors that is now led by Charles Koch and his son Chase. Charles is the CEO of Koch Industries, a privately held corporation operating in a variety of industrial sectors, including oil and gas exploration, pipelines and refining, chemical and fertilizer production. Charles’ brother David helped lead the Koch network until he died in 2019.
The Kochs have long opposed ([link removed]) the federal minimum wage and sought to limit funding ([link removed]) for energy efficiency programs that benefit low-income households, through their flagship advocacy group Americans for Prosperity. The Koch network is also known for spending millions of dollars annually funding climate denial groups ([link removed]) that oppose renewable energy ([link removed]) .
** The Wrights have contributed $165,000 to Koch-controlled Super PACs since 2014
------------------------------------------------------------
The 2014 Denver Post op-ed described the Wrights as supporters of the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce (now known as the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce ([link removed]) ), a 501(c)(6) industry association spearheaded by Charles Koch ([link removed]) .
The Wright Family Living Trust, located at the Wrights’ home address in Englewood, Colorado, contributed $15,000 ([link removed]) in 2014 to Freedom Partners Action Fund, an affiliated Super PAC of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce. The Super PAC spent ([link removed]) millions to oppose Udall and support Gardner during the 2014 Senate race.
The Wrights’ op-ed was part of a broader media campaign by donors to the Koch network ([link removed]) in response to increased public scrutiny ([link removed]) of the network’s political spending and influence ([link removed]) .
Chris Wright later contributed $100,000 to Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, the Koch-backed Super PAC that spent $178 million ([link removed]) backing Republicans during the 2024 election. Wright contributed the money to AFP Action in December of 2023, just a few days after the Super PAC endorsed Nikki Haley ([link removed]) over Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primaries.
State chapters of AFP ([link removed]) are now signaling their newfound affinity for President-elect Trump by hosting inaugural watch parties ([link removed]) on January 20.
Liz Wright contributed money ([link removed]) to Haley’s campaign in November 2023. Chris donated money ([link removed]) to the presidential campaign of North Dakota’s Republican Governor, Doug Burgum, that summer. Burgum is now Trump’s pick for Secretary of Interior.
After Trump secured the GOP nomination last year, the Wrights contributed ([link removed]) approximately $458,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, plus $289,000 to the RNC.
Liberty Energy is listed as a sponsor ([link removed]) of an upcoming Trump inaugural watch party in D.C., which will be hosted by oil and gas producer Harold Hamm, the CEO of Continental Resources. Hamm helped Trump raise millions of dollars during the 2024 election and then backed Wright for Secretary of Energy ([link removed]) shortly before Trump announced Wright ([link removed]) as his pick for the position in November.
The Wright Family Living Trust also contributed $50,000 in 2018 to the Freedom Partners Action Fund ([link removed]) , which spent $9 million ([link removed]) supporting Republicans during the 2018 election cycle.
In 2016, the Charles Koch Foundation and the Wrights contributed $3.69 million and $500,000 ([link removed]) , respectively, to help launch the Eudaimonia Institute to study “human flourishing” at Wake Forest University. The funding was opposed by faculty at the university ([link removed]) . An investigation ([link removed]) by the faculty senate found the Institute’s lack of transparency around its donor agreement with the Koch Foundation to be “deeply concerning.”
** Chris Wright transformed from a Never Trumper into a Trump donor before becoming Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy
------------------------------------------------------------
While the Wrights’ contributions to federal Super PACs controlled by the Koch network are publicly reported in campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the tax-exempt nonprofits ([link removed]) that form much of the sprawling Koch network are not required to disclose their donors in their annual tax filings with the IRS. But Chris and Liz Wright have not been shy about aligning themselves publicly with the Koch Network. Their presence at multiple Koch network donor summits over the years has been documented by reporters on several occasions.
“Terrible and truly awful are the two choices,” Chris Wright said in 2016 of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at a Koch network gathering in Colorado, according to Bloomberg ([link removed]) .
“We’re not going to give any money to support Donald Trump,” Wright also said.
The comments show how Chris was a Never Trumper eight years before he was tapped to serve in Trump’s next administration. Liz also told USA Today ([link removed]) that she’d voted for the Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2016.
Wright’s comments echoed ([link removed]) Charles Koch’s decision not to use the network’s money to directly support Trump in 2016, an election cycle where the network initially planned to spend nearly $1 billion ([link removed]) , yet still spent heavily to help other Republican candidates.
“Our suspicion is we’re going to get three parts good and one part bad,” Chris Wright said ([link removed]) about Trump at a Koch summit in California in January 2017. “We’re worried about the one part bad.”
Later that year, the Wrights described ([link removed]) the Trump presidency and Republican control of Congress as a rare opportunity to enact the Koch network’s priorities at another donor gathering in Colorado.
Chris leveraged his Koch network connections to provide information to those close to Trump. In May 2017, Chris sent Doug Deason, a Trump advisor and Koch network donor, an email ([link removed]) with “Re: EPA Science Advisory Committee” in the subject line and provided his bio, cell phone number, and a link to a presentation he gave on climate change.
Deason then shared Wright’s email with Ryan Jackson, EPA chief of staff. Deason wrote that he had met Wright “at Koch Seminars in California several years ago” and described how the two had gone skiing together and become friends. The emails were originally obtained by the Sierra Club and are publicly available at ToxicDocs.org ([link removed]) .
Deason also forwarded Jackson another email ([link removed]) from Wright that linked to an op-ed he wrote in 2014 downplaying the threat posed by global warming.
Trump-aligned and Koch-backed Project 2025 groups ([link removed]) like the Heritage Foundation ([link removed]) and Texas Public Policy Foundation ([link removed]) have endorsed Wright’s bid to become Trump’s Secretary of Energy ([link removed]) .
Democratic senators on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, have called for Wright’s confirmation hearing to be postponed ([link removed]) because copies of Wright’s FBI background check, financial disclosure, and ethics forms have not been provided to the committee.
Wright’s confirmation hearing is currently scheduled ([link removed]) for 10 AM on Wednesday, January 14.
Top image is a screenshot from a 2019 Facebook video ([link removed]) of Chris Wright drinking fracking fluid that was posted online by Liberty Energy
The post Chris Wright: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a longtime member of Charles Koch’s political donor network ([link removed]) appeared first on Energy and Policy Institute ([link removed]) .
Read in browser » ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed]
** Recent Articles:
------------------------------------------------------------
** Tucson Electric Power filings show millions of dollars to trade and chamber groups possibly borne by customers ([link removed])
** Report: Utilities charge customers for lobbying, corporate branding, and luxury lifestyle expenses ([link removed])
** Gas Utility National Fuel Used Its Customers’ Money for Lobbying ([link removed])
** Duke Energy utilities long knew of climate change risks before joining denial campaigns ([link removed])
** CenterPoint lobbyist ghostwrote comments to support gas appliance rebates ([link removed]
============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2025 Energy and Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website via our Contact Us page.
Our mailing address is:
Energy and Policy Institute
P.O. Box 170399
San Francisco, CA 94117
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
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