Energy Secretary Chris Wright spent much of his back-to-back appearances on Capitol Hill this week getting hammered by Democrats over rising energy and gasoline prices in the wake of the Iran war. Republicans are pleased with Wright’s rebuttals.
The former natural gas company CEO is one of President Donald Trump’s primary surrogates on energy issues at a time when high prices have become a vulnerability for Republicans going into the midterm elections. That’s why this week’s hearings to defend the White House’s budget request — his first formal appearances before lawmakers in nearly a year — were so high-stakes for Wright.
Wright stuck to the administration’s talking points on the Middle East conflict and gasoline prices being almost $1 higher on average compared to last year, and he pointed the finger back at Democrats.
“It’s a difficult message to articulate,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), a House Energy and Commerce member who is running for Senate, in an interview. “Everybody thinks in the immediate term, but yeah, I think he’s doing the best he can. It’s just tough. It’s tough.”
