Chris Wright confirmed as secretary of energy


The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Chris Wright as secretary of energy on Feb. 3, 2025. The Senate voted 59-38 in favor of his nomination with seven Democrats, one independent who caucuses with Democrats, and 51 Republicans voting in favor. This was the ninth member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on Nov. 16, 2024, that he had selected Wright as his nominee for secretary of energy. Trump said of Wright’s nomination, “Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy. He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas. Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics.” The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing for Wright on January 15, 2025, and voted 15-5 to advance his nomination.

Wright received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also studied electrical engineering as a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies, a fracking company, in 1992, and worked as chairman of Stroud Energy, a shale gas production company until 2006. In 2010, Wright founded Liberty Energy, where he served as chief executive officer until 2024.

Looking just at the main 15 Cabinet secretaries who are in the line of presidential succession, and excluding other Cabinet-level positions, Wright was the seventh Cabinet secretary to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, four of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

At this point in the Biden administration, five of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration,12 of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.