Shocking! More than 40 Trump administration picks tied directly to oil, gas and coal

Donald Trump has placed dozens of people with ties to the fossil fuel sector in his administration, including more than 40 who have directly worked for oil, gas or coal companies, according to a new analysis.

The report from Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project, a corporate watchdog, analyzed the backgrounds of nominees and appointees within the White House and eight agencies dictating energy, environmental and climate policy. The analysis comes as Trump wages broad attacks on climate and energy policies and on renewable energy.

The administration has launched an unprecedented assault on climate science, including a report on climate change that experts derided as full of misinformation. The report was created to justify the planned overturn of a key legal finding that forms the basis of virtually all US climate regulations.

The report identified 111 employees deemed “fossil fuel insiders and renewable energy opponents”. That includes 43 people who were directly employed by coal, oil or gas companies. Among them are well-known senior officials such as energy secretary Chris Wright, the former CEO of the fracking company Liberty Energy.

The list includes-

• The energy department, led by a former fracking executive, which told workers to avoid using terms such as “climate change” and “emissions”.
• The White House, where one senior policy adviser has held high-ranking positions at big oil firms including Shell.
• 12 Trump officials who have ties to fossil fuel-funded rightwing thinktanks.
• 29 other Trump officials who are former corporate executives from polluting sectors whose business interests are tied up with fossil fuels.
• 32 employees at the Department of the Interior have ties to polluting energy, making it the most compromised federal agency
• The anti-environmentalist group "Americans for Prosperity", backed by the fossil fuel moguls the Koch brothers.
• Former members of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative group that has fought renewable energy and made what it calls “the moral case for fossil fuels”.
• Other officials with ties to utility companies that sell fossil fuels
• Elected officials who have pushed pro-coal, -oil and -gas policies

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “It’s totally pathetic and transparent that The Guardian is regurgitating a press release from a self-described anti-Trump group in order to attack White House staff.” “Secretary Wright, Secretary Burgum, and Jarrod Agen are all exceptionally qualified to deliver on the American people’s mandate to ‘drill, baby, drill’ and unleash our nation’s energy potential – which is what President Trump was overwhelmingly elected to implement.

Energy department spokesperson Ben Dietderich said: “Unlike the Biden administration, which routinely prioritized the interests of the radical climate lobby at the expense of the American people, President Trump’s administration has consistently put the American people first. Of course, President Trump is going to recruit professionals who actually understand how the energy industry works,” he said.

An interior department spokesperson said: “It’s clear that this progressive group, pushing an entire climate cult program, among other radical policies, would like to see American taxpayer dollars wasted on the Green New Scam."

Fossil fuel donors poured $96m into Trump’s 2025 presidential campaign and affiliated action committees, and contributed $11.8m to Trump’s second inauguration. Since entering office, his administration has not only enshrined pro-fossil fuel policies and rules, but also crafted tax breaks and tariff carveouts benefitting the industry.

Trump oversaw a massive slew of anti-environmental actions during his first term. During his second term, equipped with rightwing plans like the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, he has overseen a far broader and harsher crackdown on climate rules and renewable energy.

The current Trump administration has also been completely unabashed about doing the bidding of the oil sector, said Alan Zibel, a co-author and the research director at Public Citizen.

“There’s no shame,” he said. “They are proud and willing to go out there and tout the fact that they are doing favors for the oil and gas industry, mining industry, the coal industry.”