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Deadhorse, Alaska It’s unusual to find a cabinet-level official—much less three—standing on a makeshift platform amid barren permafrost, enduring “balmy” 20-degree weather, 4,650 miles by road from the White House. It’s a show of commitment to an overlooked yet central theme of this Trump administration—setting free the private economy. That plank of the Trump agenda has been eclipsed by drama over tariffs and the Republican tax bill, though it is economically as important and moving far faster. Leading it are Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Joe Biden instituted a “whole...

Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons. An Energy Department spokesperson disputed the number of personnel affected, telling CNN that “less than 50 people” were “dismissed” from NNSA, and that the dismissed staffers “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.” The agency began rescinding the terminations Friday morning. Some...

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the National Energy Dominance Council to advise the president on strategies to make the United States energy-dominant. A White House document on the order provided to Breitbart News notes that Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum will chair the council, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright will be the vice chairman. Various cabinet and agency members will also serve on the council. “The Council will advise President Trump on strategies to achieve energy dominance by improving the processes for permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, and transportation across all forms of American...

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright unveiled his first secretarial order on Wednesday in a move to overturn many of former President Joe Biden’s green energy policies and restore “energy dominance” in America. Wright’s order aims to reduce energy costs in the U.S. and expand domestic energy production, according to a press release. The order outlines several of the DOE’s plans to improve the U.S. energy sector by tackling issues caused by several Biden-era energy regulations. The DOE’s order also outlines a plan to begin a comprehensive review of the agency’s Appliance Standards Program to make home appliances and...

The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Energy Department. The vote was 59-38. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle indicated support for his nomination during his confirmation hearing, and he sailed out of the committee on a 15-5 vote. “He’s a scientist who has invested his life around energy. He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard, but he studied nuclear,” Democrat John Hickenlooper (Colo.) said during Wright’s confirmation hearing. “His first years of working were in solar. He has experience in wind.”

9:30 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Justice DepartmentThe former Florida attorney general makes the first of two scheduled appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was Trump’s pick for attorney general hours after his first choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration. Gaetz was facing questions about a federal sex trafficking investigation and a House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations that he paid for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl. Bondi is a longtime fixture in Trump’s orbit. The attorney general will be one of the most closely watched Cabinet members, given the concern among Democrats that Trump will look...

Donald Trump rewarded the tycoons behind the shale boom, among his most ardent supporters, with the selection Saturday of Chris Wright as his nominee for Energy Secretary. Wright was front-and-center for the fracking revolution that reshaped the country as a band of scrappy wildcatters that reinvigorated U.S. oil and gas production to record heights. His $2.8 billion company, Liberty Energy, pumps water and sand underground to frack customers’ wells. Wright’s selection elevates a pugnacious branch of the oil-and-gas industry that is skeptical of climate-change science and mostly hasn’t pledged to build out low-carbon energy businesses, unlike giants Exxon Mobil and...

This afternoon’s fabulous cabinet announcement is that Chris Wright, founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, is President Trump’s pick to be secretary of energy. Chris is an old friend—he hosted me any my family for a week of skiing once at his second home in Big Sky, Montana, some years back—and he was a guest on our podcast along with his great friend Lord Matt Ridley back in 2018, which you can take in here. He has spoken to couple of my classes on a few occasions when his busy schedule allowed. With his solid background in science and energy,...

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has selected Chris Wright, the head of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Department of Energy and to serve on a new National Energy Council. Get the latest election news and results In his announcement, Trump credited Wright as “one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution,” adding that “as Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape.” Trump on Friday tapped North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) to serve as interior secretary and as “energy czar” to oversee the new National...

President-elect Donald Trump tapped longtime fracking advocate Chris Wright to lead his administration’s Department of Energy, he announced Saturday. Wright, the chief executive of oilfield services group Liberty Energy, helped launch the American Shale Revolution of the mid-2000s that significantly increased US production of oil and natural gas. “As Secretary of Energy, Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,'” Trump said in a statement. Wright’s appointment to the Trump administration cabinet signifies the president-elect’s determination to boost fossil fuel production in the...

Religions have surprisingly diverse approaches to the issue of possible extraterrestrial life, David Weintraub found. Below, a quick survey adapted from his book "Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?" and interviews with the author.