DOE nominee hearing on track as committee leaders clash

By Jonathan Miller, Andres Picon | 01/15/2025 06:37 AM EST

Chris Wright is set to appear before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday. Democrats are not happy about that.

Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been sparring for days over confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead the Energy and Interior departments. Francis Chung/POLITICO

The Republican chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is pushing ahead with a confirmation hearing for Energy secretary, despite Democratic objections.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a statement Tuesday night that “the time for needless delays is over” while reaffirming that Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Energy, would appear before his committee Wednesday.

The dispute centered on a delay in getting Wright’s financial and ethics disclosures to the committee ahead of the hearing. Democrats argued Tuesday that the 10 a.m. hearing should be postponed by a week.

Advertisement

But Lee said late Tuesday that the committee had “received Chris Wright’s paperwork and is prepared to move forward without further unnecessary holdups.” He added that Democrats would have “more than sufficient time”’ to review the paperwork.

GET FULL ACCESS