An analysis of over 100 staffers’ backgrounds reveals Texas oil money takeover of Trump administration, deep ties to fossil fuel industry and far right think tanks; Polluters get ‘concierge, white glove service’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has installed more than 100 fossil fuel insiders, renewable energy opponents, corporate lobbyists, and far-right think tank alumni across nine agencies during his second term, according to a new analysis of the backgrounds of staffers appointed to roles in the administration.
The analysis by Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project of 111 officials identified:
- 43 former fossil fuel industry employees
- 29 former corporate executives
- 14 former corporate lawyers
- 12 people tied to fossil fuel-funded right-wing think tanks
- 7 people tied primarily to Republican politics such as elected officials and staffers pushing a fossil fuel or corporate agenda
- 6 from utility companies or the nuclear energy industry
The analysis also found that more than two-thirds (25 out of 37) of staff nominated to Senate-confirmable jobs at the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of the Interior had ties to polluting interests.
The agencies have made dozens of hires from the fossil fuel sector and other polluting industries, as well as corporate lawyers and far-right think tank alumni who are enacting Trump’s policies designed to promote dirty energy and destroy America’s public lands.
The report details comments by a White House staffer speaking on an energy lobbyist’s podcast, stating the Trump administration is providing “concierge, white glove service” to dirty energy companies pushing pipelines, mining projects, and export terminals.
The report highlights the expansive influence of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the America First Policy Institute in staffing the second Trump administration. Both of the far-right think tanks are funded by the Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn, and have created a pipeline of Trump staffers to implement an extreme, pro-fossil fuel agenda.
The ascent of Dunn and other allied Texas donors represents a changing of the guard from the libertarian Koch network, which had extensive influence on the first Trump administration, yet has parted ways on some issues, such as Trump’s tariffs.
“This is nothing short of a Texas oil industry takeover of the U.S. government at the expense of consumers, the climate, public health, and public lands and waters,” said Alan Zibel, a research director with Public Citizen and a co-author of the report.
“To execute his extreme, reckless, backward-looking fossil fuel agenda, Trump has stocked his administration with fossil fuel staffers and ideologues,”
“Texas-based billionaires have taken over the Trump administration, providing a steady stream of staffers and an extreme set of policy ideas that consciously favors the most polluting forms of energy,” said Toni Aguilar Rosenthal, senior researcher with the Revolving Door Project. “Trump’s policies aid the fossil fuel industry’s exploitation of the public sphere for private profit while simultaneously sabotaging renewables and ensuring that the U.S. remains trapped in a dirty energy economy.”
At the same time, Trump has launched a far-reaching attack on renewable energy, with wind power hit the hardest. Offshore wind developers have been forced into court to defend projects, including an almost complete offshore wind farm. Since offshore wind turbines are sited in federal waters, the industry is especially vulnerable to Trump’s sabotage. The industry has long been the subject of a far-right think tank-backed anti-wind disinformation campaign.
Beyond the revolving door of corporate nominees and appointees, the report details numerous examples of Trump administration hires serving in, or nominated for, high positions with little, if any, subject matter expertise. Many have political connections, experience in other fields, or backgrounds in marketing, public relations and public speaking.
Read the report here: Trump’s Polluter Playground: 100+ fossil fuel Insiders & far-right ideologues prop up dirty energy, plunder public lands, and thwart wind & solar
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