SACRAMENTO, California — California’s top energy and climate regulators are still striking a tone of defiance against the Trump administration on everything from clean vehicle rules to offshore oil drilling.
But California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild acknowledged at least one rare area of alignment with Trump while on a panel at POLITICO’s The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit on Tuesday: Both California officials and the White House have held conversations with potential investors in the past year after two California oil refineries announced plans to close, though no deal has been struck.
“We’ll work in good faith with the Trump administration wherever we have common cause to keep gas prices down,” Hochschild said. He declined to say whether he would support the Trump administration if it were to find a buyer for a refinery in Benicia that was scheduled to close, saying he would “evaluate on a case-by-case basis.”
Hochschild returned to Trump-bashing shortly after, calling Trump 2.0 the “political version of COVID” and the federal government’s efforts to restart offshore oil production and cancel offshore wind leases “unbelievably reckless.”
