California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla tried to unseat President-elect Donald Trump's energy secretary nominee, Chris Wright, over climate change during the presidential campaign. confirmation hearing Wednesday morning.
Padilla seemed to blame climate change alone for the deadly and devastating Los Angeles wildfires, but then Liberty Energy CEO Wright said in 2023 that “wildfire hype justifies harmful climate policies.” “It's nothing more than hype for the purpose of becoming a reality,” he said, criticizing the social media post. around of washington post.
Padilla made the argument during a hearing sponsored by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Despite the misinformation being spread here at the Capitol, in Southern California, and everywhere in between, it is clear that unseasonably dry vegetation and extremely strong winds are responsible for these fires reaching this size and scale. It is clear that both of these are due to direct influence. Consequences of climate change.
“The climate crisis and its deadly effects are very real to our neighbors and constituents. As we discussed at yesterday's meeting, you have lived in California for a long time and have seen firsthand how things are changing. I've seen it, so I have to say it. [you]I was pretty disappointed to find some of your social media posts,” Padilla told Wright. 'You write, “The wildfire hype is nothing more than a hype to justify further impoverishment due to bad government policies.'' Given the devastation we are currently experiencing in Los Angeles, do you still believe wildfires are just hype?”
Padilla interrupted Wright before he could properly answer.
“Do you think it's just hype or not?” Padilla interjected.
“Climate change is a real, global phenomenon,” Wright began.
“Is it hype?” Padilla interrupted again.
“I stand by my past comments,” Wright responded.
Padilla recently blamed climate change, rather than the myriad failures of local and state governments (see here, here, here, here, and here), for the severity of California's wildfires. He is one of many far-left Democrats and activists who Combined with Santa Ana's high-velocity winds, you can be prepared for disaster.
Related – WSJ: California fires caused by bad government, not climate change
During the hearing, left-wing climate protesters interrupted the proceedings at least five times. At one point, the disruption was so great that lawmakers called for a recess in committee until Capitol Police subdued the protesters. Capitol Police arrest 10 people in connection with Wright's confirmation hearing, FOX News correspondent Chad Pergram reported.
The protesters' exact comments are muffled and unclear, but they appear to have tried to link fossil fuels to climate change, with one demonstrator saying the hearing was being held “while Los Angeles is burning.” he shouted.
“I'm 18 years old, I want a future,” another demonstrator shouted.
Each protester was quickly removed from the room by security, and senators called for mutual respect and an end to disruption of the hearing.
The left-wing Sunrise Movement, a climate change group that promotes a Green New Deal, protested outside Wright's confirmation hearing, according to a post by the group on X.
“The last thing we want to do is put the CEO of an oil company in charge of energy policy when fires are ravaging entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles,” the group said in a statement posted in yellow with the words “Reject the Light.” he wrote above a photo of an activist holding a placard.
Activists say Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (R-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are also participating, and Wright It said his confirmation was a “threat to our democracy and our future.”
Wright made it clear throughout his hearing that he believes in policies that respect the environment, improve Americans' quality of life, and reduce costs while simultaneously increasing energy.
“Climate change is a global challenge that we must solve, and the trade-offs between the two are decisions that politicians will make, decisions that will affect the future of our world and our quality of life. ” he said.
“I'm in favor of improving all energy technologies that can improve human life and reduce emissions. They go together,” he added.
Wright was also given the opportunity to speak about the California wildfires later in the hearing.
“It's heartbreaking to see people suffer, to see people suffer, to see people lose family, to lose property, to lose self-esteem, to see people lose safety. “It's scary to see what's happening in LA today,” he said. “We want to protect people from these things. We want to make our societies more resilient and stronger. In the midst of personal trauma, the words that reflect global policy are there is no…”
“These are human tragedies that touch each of us. I've lived in California for 19 years and have many friends in the LA area. I probably get emotional talking about it.” he added. “It's scary to see what's going on there. We need to do everything we can to put out the fires, rebuild infrastructure and get people back to the lives they had before the terrible fires.” there is.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
