President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet choices 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 cabinet 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 his cabinet picks view climate change and energy.
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.
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
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.
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.
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, September 2023
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, 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.
“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
When he was seeking his Senate seat in 2010, Mr. Rubio denied 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.
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.
“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,” 2019
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.
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.
“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
“Americans have had enough of Joe Biden and far-left Democrats’ anti-American energy policies.” — March 20, 2024, statement
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 indicate she now supports fossil fuel expansion.
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.
“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 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
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.
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.
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, July 2023
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.
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.
“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
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., 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.
“I believe that climate change is existential.” — April 2024 New York Times interview
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.
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.
“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
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.
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.
The Inflation Reduction Act is “the doomsday machine for the deficit.” Financial Times, Oct. 13, 2024
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.
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.
“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
Ms. Rollins leads the America First Policy Institute, which was formed by former officials from the first Trump administration and promotes 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 climate policies.
The post What Trump’s Cabinet Picks Say About Climate Change appeared first on New York Times.
