Casten Statement on Trump Energy Secretary Nominee
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) has released the following statement regarding President-Elect Donald Trump’s announcement of Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy and a documented climate denier, as his nominee for Secretary of Energy:
“Chris Wright is a science-denying, self-serving, sanctimonious fracker who consistently puts the wants of energy producers over the needs of American energy consumers,” said Rep. Sean Casten. “To put him in charge of the Department of Energy is to fulfill the dreams of every fossil fuel company that hopes to boost their profits by raising energy costs for Americans. This selection is bad news for anyone who hopes to decrease carbon emissions, see their gas bill go down, or pass a livable planet on to their children.”
In an April 2024 House Financial Services Committee (FSC) in which Wright testified, Rep. Casten addressed Wright’s dangerous history of denying science in order to improve the bottom line of fossil fuel companies like Liberty Energy.
“I’m not going to get into an argument with you because ultimately you don’t matter,” Rep. Casten said in the hearing. “You are an interchangeable person who comes here and finds it useful to misrepresent science in order to create short-term value for your shareholders. There are thousands of people like you. You’re going to be forgotten years from now. Maybe your grandchildren will be embarrassed. I don’t know. But what I know right now is that we have to act on this stuff.”
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