Energy Secretary Chris Wright faced sharp criticism from House Democrats over rising energy prices during a budget hearing Wednesday, while also offering new details on the Department of Energy’s award cancellations, solar development and his approach to permitting reform.
It was Wright’s first hearing appearance on Capitol Hill in nearly a year, and Democrats were quick to make up for lost time, grilling him over rising gasoline prices following U.S. strikes on Iran.
“We’re looking at gasoline prices going through the roof across the country,” said Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “This is an administration that decided on a war of choice in Iran, and that choice is driving up these costs.”
The Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing was focused on the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, which would cut nondefense spending by more than 10 percent and impose even steeper reductions on renewable energy programs.
Those cuts include eliminating funding for wind, solar and weatherization programs — areas Democrats also seized on in their criticism of Wright. He defended the proposal as a refocus on reliability and core energy priorities.
“We put the department back on mission: delivering affordable, reliable and secure energy to the American people,” Wright said.
Wright will appear again Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He’s also due on Capitol Hill next week, as is Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s hearing:
Energy prices
Democrats devoted much of the hearing to energy prices, with DeLauro pressing the DOE secretary on whether he had advised President Donald Trump about the potential impact of military action on fuel costs before the conflict began.
“Did you provide any information prior to Feb. 28 regarding how potential strikes against Iran would impact global energy prices?” DeLauro asked.
That question is gaining traction among Democrats in both chambers. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to Wright probing whether DOE adequately analyzed the potential price impacts of a war with Iran.
Wright responded that discussions about Iran and its energy implications had been ongoing within the administration.
“From the day I arrived in this seat, I have spoken with the president and the whole administration about Iran and the impacts of action against Iran,” Wright said.
He also defended the level that gasoline prices were at — hovering above 4 dollars on Wednesday — considering the scale of the disruption to the oil market.
He added that prices were roughly $1 per gallon higher during the Joe Biden administration, though that comparison refers to the period following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Iran was not the only source of energy price concern for Democrats. Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.) pressed Wright on his decision to keep a coal plant in his district operating beyond its scheduled retirement date.
“A third-party report said it would cost [the utility] $100 million to bring that coal plant back online,” Mrvan said. “Please explain why that emergency order is benefiting people who are already being crushed by these policies.”
Wright, who has forced several coal plants to remain open in the name of grid reliability, argued that maintaining coal capacity is critical.
“The costs of blackouts are immeasurable. The cost of unreliable power is massive,” he said.
Mrvan pushed back, arguing the benefits do not outweigh the costs.
“There haven’t been consistent blackouts in the Midwest for 40 years,” he said. “I’m telling you this is not net beneficial to my ratepayers.”
Wright said he would review the situation if Mrvan’s concerns prove accurate.
Award cancellations
DOE has completed its review of more than 2,200 funding awards, which it launched last year to weed out what it saw as wasteful Biden-era spending, Wright testified.
“I am happy to say that effort has finally come to a completion,” Wright said. “We have finished that effort, and we are keen to move forward with the majority of projects, which did pass either straight up or through restructuring.”
The secretary acknowledged that some of the terminations were reconsidered based on feedback and clarifications from the applicants. More than 80 percent of the projects reviewed ultimately advanced, he added.
“Did we make mistakes in some of them? Absolutely,” Wright acknowledged. “And are we willing to reengage? You bet.”
Still, the secretary was repeatedly pressed by Democrats on the political dynamics surrounding the department’s terminations.
DOE last fall announced the termination of projects located in blue states, following a promise by budget director Russ Vought that the administration would cancel “Green New Scam funding” in states that voted for Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
A federal judge sided with clean energy groups that had argued the Trump administration acted punitively against Democratic-led states in canceling the awards. In the proceedings, government lawyers said that the selection of the awards was influenced by the awardees’ residence in a blue state, while also arguing that partisan politics was constitutionally permissible.
Wright maintained the projects were not evaluated in “any way, shape or form based on where they were” located. He argued his own comments were not, however, inconsistent with the government lawyers’ own acknowledgment of the partisan nature of the cuts.
“The evaluation of all the projects did not take into account politics. They looked at these projects on their merits,” said Wright, who also drew a distinction between the timing of the announcement of the terminated projects, not the evaluation itself.
“The announcement, which is a timing question, not a decision question,” he said.
Solar energy
Wright focused his remarks on baseload power sources, like natural gas and nuclear — but he offered some supportive statements on solar power.
“I have been for the deployment of secure, reliable, affordable energy. I don’t care what the source is,” he said. “I don’t have favorite sources and less favorite sources.”
But he was pressed by lawmakers on the Trump administration’s slowing of solar and wind permits across the country — including requiring a personal signoff from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Recently some utility-scale solar projects have begun advancing through the Interior Department after months of stagnation, but that is not being felt uniformly across wind and solar projects.
“I engage with Secretary Burgum a lot, and I will on this issue, as well,” Wright said when pressed on permitting decision parity by Nevada Democratic Rep. Susie Lee.
Wright was also asked about the administration’s budget request, which would zero out funding for wind, solar and weatherization programs.
“We will continue research in solar. I believe it is consistent with our budget request,” he said. “We have a lot of efforts at multiple national labs on pursuing solar technology going forward and have no plans to change that.”
Permitting reform
Wright joined a growing list of Cabinet officials publicly advocating for congressional permitting reform, outlining areas he believes lawmakers should address.
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) asked Wright what changes Congress could make to help the U.S. compete with global rivals in what he called the “race for energy production.”
“We’re doing everything we can in the administration, but I think if we can get serious permitting reform that addresses 401C, water permits as well, so that we can make it easier to build what businesses want to build,” Wright said.
Streamlining Section 401 of the Clean Water Act has become a centerpiece of many Republican-led permitting reform proposals. The provision requires energy projects to obtain state certification confirming compliance with water quality standards before moving forward.
Democrats have resisted efforts to weaken that authority. The provision has been used to block or delay several high-profile coal port and natural gas pipeline projects, and many Democrats argue states should retain the power.
