Connect with us

Energy

Trump vows to reduce energy costs with his latest cabinet picks

Published

8 months ago

7 minute read

From The Center Square

By 

“With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down Inflation, win the A.l. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.”

With his latest cabinet nominations, President-elect Donald Trump promised to bring down the cost Americans pay for energy by expanding oil and gas production.

Trump named North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as secretary of the Interior as well as chairman of “the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council.”

“As Chairman of the National Energy Council, Doug will have a seat on the National Security Council,” Trump said in a statement. “As Secretary of the Interior, Doug will be a key leader in ushering in a new ‘Golden Age of American Prosperity’ and World Peace. ‘

“We will ’DRILL BABY DRILL,’ expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs,” he added. “By smartly utilizing our amazing National Assets, we will preserve and protect our most beautiful places, AND reduce our deficits and our debt!”

Trump said the new energy council will involve all parts of the federal government dealing with energy.

“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump said. “With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down Inflation, win the A.l. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.”

As part of his Burgum pick and his nomination of fracking entrepreneur Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy, Trump promised to get energy prices down.

“We will also undo the damage done by the Democrats to our Nation’s Electrical Grid, by dramatically increasing baseload power,” Trump said.

Trump also named William Owen Scharf as assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary.

So far, Trump has pointed to the loyalty of his choices, saying how they endorsed him or helped him win reelection when announcing them as his choices.

“Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team. He has played a key role in defeating the Election Interference and Lawfare waged against me, including by winning the Historic Immunity Decision in the Supreme Court.”

Trump followed his electoral win with a flurry of cabinet picks, some expected and some that are sure to stir things up.

In particular, Trump’s picks of Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human services, veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Secretary of Defense, and former Congressman Matt Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice have sparked headlines.

More picks are on the way as Trump has to fill out positions across the federal government.

Whether Trump can get the Senate to confirm his nominees, especially the more controversial picks, remains to be seen.

Trump’s list of nominees so far include:

  • North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior.
  • William Owen Scharf as Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary.
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of U.S. Health and Human Services
  • Former Congresswoman and veteran Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.
  • Former Congressman Doug Collins as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
  • Jay Clayton as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • Former congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.
  • Veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
  • Veteran and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  • U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as Secretary of State.
  • Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as “border czar.”
  • Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
  • Former Congresswoman and current governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
  • Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency.
  • William Joseph McGinley as White House Counsel.
  • Steven C. Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East.
  • Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. as national security advisor.
  • Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel.
  • Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. as ambassador to the U.N.
  • Dean John Sauer as Solicitor General.
  • Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General.
  • Emil Bove as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General.
  • Dan Scavino of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff.
  • Susie Wiles, co-chair of the Trump campaign, as White House Chief of Staff.
  • Stephen Miller as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor.
  • James Blair of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs.
  • Taylor Budowich of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel.

D.C. Bureau Reporter

Related Topics:

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

More from this author
Business / 7 hours ago

The Digital Services Tax Q&A: “It was going to be complicated and messy”

Alberta / 7 hours ago

Pierre Poilievre – Per Capita, Hardisty, Alberta Is the Most Important Little Town In Canada

International / 7 hours ago

Elon Musk forms America Party after split with Trump

Alberta

Pierre Poilievre – Per Capita, Hardisty, Alberta Is the Most Important Little Town In Canada

Published on July 6, 2025

By

From Pierre Poilievre

The tiny town of Hardisty, Alberta (623 people) moves $90 billion in energy a year—that’s more than the GDP of some countries.

Continue Reading

Energy

If Canada Wants to be the World’s Energy Partner, We Need to Act Like It

Published on July 6, 2025

By

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia file

From Energy Now

By Gary Mar

Get the Latest Canadian Focused Energy News Delivered to You! It’s FREE: Quick Sign-Up Here

With the Trans Mountain Expansion online, we have new access to Pacific markets and Asia has responded, with China now a top buyer of Canadian crude.

The world is short on reliable energy and long on instability. Tankers edge through choke points like the Strait of Hormuz. Wars threaten pipelines and power grids. Markets flinch with every headline. As authoritarian regimes rattle sabres and weaponize supply chains, the global appetite for energy from stable, democratic, responsible producers has never been greater.

Canada checks every box: vast reserves, rigorous environmental standards, rule of law and a commitment to Indigenous partnership. We should be leading the race, but instead we’ve effectively tied our own shoelaces together.

In 2024, Canada set new records for oil production and exports. Alberta alone pumped nearly 1.5 billion barrels, a 4.5 per cent increase over 2023. With the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) online, we have new access to Pacific markets and Asia has responded, with China now a top buyer of Canadian crude.

The bad news is that we’re limiting where energy can leave the country. Bill C-48, the so-called tanker ban, prohibits tankers carrying over 12,500 tons of crude oil from stopping or unloading crude at ports or marine installations along B.C.’s northern coast. That includes Kitimat and Prince Rupert, two ports with strategic access to Indo-Pacific markets. Yes, we must do all we can to mitigate risks to Canada’s coastlines, but this should be balanced against a need to reduce our reliance on trade with the U.S. and increase our access to global markets.

Add to that the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) which was designed in part to shorten approval times and add certainty about how long the process would take. It has not had that effect and it’s scaring off investment. Business confidence in Canada has dropped to pandemic-era lows, due in part to unpredictable rules.

At a time when Canada is facing a modest recession and needs to attract private capital, we’ve made building trade infrastructure feel like trying to drive a snowplow through molasses.

What’s needed isn’t revolutionary, just practical. A start would be to maximize the amount of crude transported through the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline, which ran at 77 per cent capacity in 2024. Under-utilization is attributed to a variety of factors, one of which is higher tolls being charged to producers.

Canada also needs to overhaul the IAA and create a review system that’s fast, clear and focused on accountability, not red tape. Investors need to know where the goalposts are. And, while we are making recommendations, strategic ports like Prince Rupert should be able to participate in global energy trade under the same high safety standards used elsewhere in Canada.

Canada needs a national approach to energy exporting. A 10-year projects and partnerships plan would give governments, Indigenous nations and industry a common direction. This could be coupled with the development of a category of “strategic export infrastructure” to prioritize trade-enabling projects and move them through approvals faster.

Of course, none of this can take place without bringing Indigenous partners into the planning process. A dedicated federal mechanism should be put in place to streamline and strengthen Indigenous consultation for major trade infrastructure, ensuring the process is both faster and fairer and that Indigenous equity options are built in from the start.

None of this is about blocking the energy transition. It’s about bridging it. Until we invent, build and scale the clean technologies of tomorrow, responsibly produced oil and gas will remain part of the mix. The only question is who will supply it.

Canada is the most stable of the world’s top oil producers, but we are a puzzle to the rest of the world, which doesn’t understand why we can’t get more of our oil and natural gas to market. In recent years, Norway and the U.S. have increased crude oil production. Notably, the U.S. also increased its natural gas exports through the construction of new LNG export terminals, which have helped supply European allies seeking to reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas.

Canada could be the bridge between demand and security, but if we want to be the world’s go-to energy partner, we need to act like it. That means building faster, regulating smarter and treating trade infrastructure like the strategic asset it is.

The world is watching. The opportunity is now. Let’s not waste it.

Gary Mar is president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation

Continue Reading

Trending

X