The new Congress and, with it, the new administration, are off to the races! President Trump wasted no time after being sworn in, signing a flurry of Executive Orders and signaling that the times, they are a-changing.
President Trump has made two things clear about his priorities for America’s future: energy will be abundant, and the air and water will be clean. In order to achieve his vision, he has assembled an “energy cabinet” comprised of Chris Wright, Doug Burgum, and Lee Zeldin to lead the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and Environmental Protection Agency. The team Trump has chosen shows his focus on results over rhetoric.
ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer took a specific look at Chris Wright for a piece in the Washington Examiner, labeling him “a leader who acknowledges the challenges of climate change but also understands the importance of balancing environmental goals with energy reliability, economic development, and poverty alleviation.”
Earlier this week, the Senate confirmed Doug Burgum and Lee Zeldin with bipartisan support. And Wright is expected to clear the Senate easily next week. The country is looking forward to their leadership.
We’ll be taking a closer look at President Trump’s energy priorities on February 4 when we sit down with his long-time environmental advisor, Ed Russo, chosen to lead a new White House Environmental Task Force. You can join us for that discussion by registering here. We will also be hosting a webinar on February 6, looking at the history of public lands in the U.S. and the growing legal and policy debate over the federal government's large landholdings. You can register to join that one by clicking here.
While most of the attention has revolved around the president’s focus on producing more domestic oil and gas, and undoing the work of his predecessor, the foundational issue necessary for realizing America’s full energy potential is permitting reform. As explained in an op-ed in The Hill, there is only so much that the administration can do. To make a real difference, Congress needs to get involved. And despite the often-polarizing atmosphere on Capitol Hill, there is demonstrated bipartisan interest in addressing this issue. Permitting reform has been on the agenda for years. Now is the time to make it happen.
The new Congress has already demonstrated that they can come together in a bipartisan fashion by overwhelmingly passing RCC member and House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rep. Westerman’s Fix Our Forests Act. This important piece of forest management legislation now awaits Senate action - we hope it will be considered and passed quickly.
Finally, this month, we said goodbye to our long-time Vice President of Policy Todd Johnston, who has joined the staff of West Virginia Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey. Todd will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chair of the Energy, Infrastructure, and Competitiveness Council. Please join us in wishing him well in his new role.
That’s it from us for this month. We hope your year is off to a safe and healthy start, and as always, we appreciate your continued support.
