Trump Picks Oil CEO for Energy Secretary

President-elect Trump on Saturday announced he's chosen campaign donor and fracking company CEO Chris Wright for the top job at the Department of Energy. Wright, who runs Liberty Energy, also will be a member of Trump's planned Council of National Energy, CNN reports. The chair of that body is to be Doug Burgum, the nominee for Interior secretary. Trump called Wright "a leading technologist and entrepreneur" in his statement. He's been a leading advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, per the AP, which Trump supports to achieve what he calls "energy dominance" in the global market. The president-elect said Wright and Burgum would drive that effort, per the New York Times, partly by cutting regulations.

Wright has recognized the connection between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change, though he's been skeptical that climate change has anything to do with the increase in extreme weather. He's said the use of fossil fuels is necessary to bring the developing world out of poverty. "The world runs on oil and gas, and we need that," Wright told CNBC last year, adding that the idea of completely moving away from fossil fuels in a decade an "absurd time frame." Other presidential appointment developments include:

• Musk and Kennedy advise: One possibility for Treasury secretary is Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager. Trump adviser Elon Musk made clear Saturday that he prefers Howard Lutnick, head of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald. "Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change," Musk posted on X. He asked that others make their voices heard so Trump can consider their views, per the AP. Bessent has been skeptical of cryptocurrency, which is not true of Lutnick. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. picked up that thread. "Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik," he posted, misspelling the name.
• Will Scharf has a job: Another Trump lawyer will work in the White House. Will Scharf, who argued Trump's side in the presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court, will be a staff secretary, the president-elect announce Saturday, per the Times. The job involves managing the flow of paperwork and documents to the president.

(More President-elect Trump stories.)