On November 16, 2024, President Donald Trump announced Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy, the world’s second-largest fracking services company, would head up the Department of Energy (DOE) during the President’s upcoming administration. Making no apologies for choosing someone from the oil and gas sector with no prior experience in the government, President Trump said, “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.” Chris Wright brings extensive experience in the oil and gas sector and sees accessible and cheap energy as a significant component in producing a much-needed economic boom in America. The President’s nomination of Chris Wright for this key cabinet position highlights the President’s commitment to fighting inflation by decreasing energy prices while reducing the emphasis on renewable energy.

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Before his nomination, Chris Wright identified three immediate tasks that align with President Trump’s goals and on which he would focus his attention if confirmed: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs, and increasing oil production in America.

Chris Wright’s nomination signals a sharp departure in DOE policy from the Biden administration’s four years of laser focus on developing green energy while phasing out the use of fossil fuels. During Mr. Wright’s hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, protesters lined the back of the room. They vocally protested the prospects of opening up hydraulic fracking and returning to fossil fuels. Mr. Wright continued as he affirmed his intentions. “America has a historic opportunity to secure our energy systems, deliver leadership in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles, and meet Cold War legacy waste commitments.” Two weeks later, the Senate confirmed Chris Wright on the night of February 3, 2025, for the position of Secretary of Energy in a bipartisan vote, 59-38.

President Biden chose Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, from a government and academic background, as a DOE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hire. With no experience in the energy sector and a mandate from the President to focus solely on green energy transition projects while excluding any usage of fossil fuels, Jennifer Granholm floundered. Technology did not exist for the nation to function without fossil fuels, and there were no solutions to the issues that arose from the DOS’s efforts to rapidly abandon hydrocarbon usage. Ms. Granholm was in a no-win situation, and there was no way for any of her policies to succeed.

Today, the DOE has a brighter future as Chris Wright brings to the Trump DOE the hope of a better future as a nation through advanced techniques that will make the best use of fossil fuels while looking to the future for new energy sources.

Christopher Allen Wright was born in 1965 in Colorado, where he lives with his wife, Liz. He loves hiking and skiing. Chris Wright comes to the Secretary of Energy position with many accolades. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and MIT.

His work background is equally impressive. Chris Wright has a notable background in the oil and gas industry, particularly in hydraulic fracturing (fracking). To prove his point that fracking fluid was not harmful to the environment, during a lecture in 2019, Mr. Wright shocked his audience when he publicly drank fracking fluid on camera to prove it was harmless.

In 1992, Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies, a company involved in commercial shale gas production through fracking, and served as its CEO until 2006. He was also chairman of Stroud Energy (currently Stroud Exploration Company), another company involved in shale gas production. In 2011, he founded Liberty Energy, promoting its “greener selections” for chemical additives.

President Trump frequently repeats the four-word phrase “Drill, Baby, Drill” to audiences to solidify the President’s intention to focus on fossil fuels as the primary energy source for Americans now and in the future.

Chris Wright has championed fossil fuel expansion and opposed climate policies that he calls part of a ‘green new scam.” He pledged to promote all energy sources, including oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables. While his friends and adversaries know where Chris Wright stands on climate change and fossil fuels, he hasn’t made enemies of those who take a hard line on one side. Instead, Chris Wright sticks to his beliefs as he walks a fine line between climate change activists and those who embrace fossil fuels as the hope of the future.

He is honest with those on both sides of the issue in all his dealings. He has endured his share of protesters, hecklers, and name-callers. He remains honest and forthright with both sides, which has earned him great respect. Fellow Republican John Barrasso once called Wright an innovator who “tells the truth about energy production.” Utah Senator Mike Lee also praised him as a leader who understands the need for affordable and abundant energy.

In a wise move, he opposes climate regulations and encourages both sides not to label any energy source as “clean” or “dirty,” arguing that all energy types have trade-offs. He insists that increasing fossil fuel production can reduce global poverty while ensuring reliable energy access. Wright stated publicly, “There is no climate crisis, and we are not in the midst of an energy transition either.”

The Department of Energy has a short history, created in 1977 after the 1973 oil crisis. President Carter needed to create a new federal department dedicated to energy projects. To facilitate the need for a Department of Energy, President Carter signed an Executive Order, the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977, paving the way for creating the Department of Energy that opened its doors on October 1, 1977.

The Department of Energy has never had a comprehensive long-term energy policy. Past policies tend to favor the current administration’s policies. The DOE now refers to its policies in vague terms, calling them “frameworks.” Hopefully, Mr. Wright will create an energy policy to outline what America needs for the next generation.

Not only will Chris Wright serve as the new Secretary of Energy at the DOE, but he will also join President Trump’s newly formed National Energy Dominance Council. Chaired by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, the council is dedicated to coordinating energy policy across executive branch agencies. Its mission is to streamline energy agencies’ permitting and boost domestic production, which will create U.S. “energy dominance” worldwide.

Mr. Wright knows he has a massive hurdle in front of him as he seeks to replenish the U.S. oil reserves depleted by former President Biden, who entered his bid for the Presidency to force the U.S. into a drastic energy transition for which we were ill-prepared. Mr. Wright estimates it will take the U.S. $20 billion and years to refill the oil reserve recklessly depleted by President Biden, who foreseeing skyrocketing pre-election oil prices that could negatively affect the November election outcomes, on April 1, 2022, ordered the release of one million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic oil reserve that had taken decades to acquire. The move did not reduce the spiking energy prices to the administration’s satisfaction, resulting in a second reserve release on October 19, 2022, when President Biden announced the release of fifteen million additional barrels of oil from our strategic reserve. Low reserves make us a nation vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions created by outside attacks and global politics. The reserve supplies President Biden depleted were put in place to avoid another oil crisis like the one in 1973, when OPEC imposed an oil embargo against the U.S. that placed our nation’s security in jeopardy.

Chris Wright agrees with President Trump that the U.S. should not sign the Paris Climate Agreement. An agreement that President Biden rejoined on his first day in office in 2021. The landmark international treaty was adopted in 2015 at the Paris UN Climate Change Conference (COP21). The signers agree to introduce impossible restrictions on their populations to comply with UN standards. The Biden administration readily entered into this agreement, imposing near-impossible restrictions on fossil fuel energy usage, causing significant damage to our nation’s economy.

At 60, Chris Wright, Secretary of the Department of Energy, will hold one of the highest offices in his field. His responsibilities include overseeing twenty executive-level energy-related offices, thirty-two DOE National Laboratories, and technical facilities for research and development. Along with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), he will be responsible for the design, testing, and production of all nuclear weapons.

The position Chris Wright accepted as Secretary of Energy carries tremendous weight. Secretary Wright needs our prayers, not just for his success but also that his heart will be humbled and that he will acknowledge God’s hand of blessing on him, which allowed him to bless America and the world’s nations.

1. Pray for Chris Wright and his family.

Lord, we ask for Your blessings on Chris Wright and his family. Protect them and let them dwell in safety. Let no weapon formed against them prosper. Every tongue that rises up against them in judgment, You will condemn.

2. Prayer for a long-term energy policy for America

Lord, we ask You to give Secretary of Energy Chris Wright a prudent long-term energy policy for America, a plan that will seamlessly transition this nation from one viable energy source to the next, while maintaining our prosperity and energy independence.

3. Pray for those who work with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to know You

Lord, we ask that You surround Secretary of Energy Chris Wright with people of integrity who know You and are not ashamed to share the Good News of the Salvation You freely give to everyone who accepts You. May the Department of Energy be filled with Your disciples who speak freely of the wonders of Your creation that You display daily.

4. Prayer for wise management of our nuclear weapons programs

Lord, give Secretary of Energy Chris Wright wisdom to oversee our nuclear weapons programs. I ask for safety over every nuclear reactor production site. Give knowledge to those in the department on how to dispose of radioactive waste.

5. Prayer for the Leaders who are part of President Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council

Lord, we pray for Secretary of Energy Chris Wright as he joins the National Energy Dominance Council. Thank you for the expertise that each member brings to the council. We ask for unity, mutual respect, and working relationships that will enhance America’s energy production and will be a blessing, not just to America but to the world’s nations as well.

6. Prayer for fair and accurate media reporting

Lord, we ask for a hedge of protection around the new Secretary of Energy. Give him favor with the media. May all reporting about him or his work be fair and accurate, without bias, envy, or hatred.

7. Prayer for the protection of the environment

Lord, we ask you to expose any act of destruction, violence, or malicious activity that would target energy production sites. We ask Your protection over each nuclear power plant, drilling site, oil truck, tanker, wind farm, and solar farm, whether within our nation’s borders or in offshore locations.

8. Pray for new energy ideas, products, and technology.

Lord, we thank You for creative men and women like Secretary Chris Wright who are blessed with creative minds and who work in the energy industry. We ask You for new ideas, products, and technology that make our energy industry prosperous, enabling our country and its people to prosper.

9. Prayer for integrity in the energy industry

We pray there would be integrity in every energy industry in the U.S. Let there be a just system of weights and balances. We ask for fair accounting practices and accountability at every level. Whether American businesses work in this nation or abroad, let them give fair wages to their workers.

10. Prayer for doors to share Jesus in other countries.

We pray that the countries employing American citizens to develop and harvest energy will also allow those workers to share Jesus with their co-workers and their families, without fear of persecution.

11. Prayer for Jesus to be the center of America’s energy workers.

Lord, we ask that You let Chris Wright express his gratitude to You, not just for what You have done for him, but for how You have blessed him in his professional and personal life.   

 Add your own prayers for Secretary Wright in the comments below.

Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools, Safety Zone: Scriptural Prayers to Revolutionize Your School, and Decrees for Your School. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. For additional information, go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Chris Wright, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133688533.