President-elect Donald Trump announced a flurry of picks over the weekend to implement his energy policies as well as round out his communications team.
Mr. Trump also announced Sunday evening he will elevate Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr to chairman of the panel.
The incoming president called Mr. Carr, the FCC’s current senior Republican, “a warrior for free speech” and said he would help “end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators.”
But the highest-level move weekend move had Mr. Trump announce North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as his choice to lead the Interior Department as well as serve as chairman of the newly formed National Energy Council, which will consist of all departments and agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, transportation and regulation of all forms of American 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 long-standing, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
In his term as governor, Mr. Burgum was a big booster of oil and natural gas drilling, leading to an economic boom in his state. Most of the drilling occurred on private land such as the Baker oil field, rather than the federal land he would now be overseeing.
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On Saturday, Mr. Trump also said he was nominating Chris Wright, the CEO of Denver-based oil and gas fracking company Liberty Energy, to head the Energy Department.
Mr. Wright, a top Republican fundraiser, has no experience in Washington. He’s been a vocal proponent of fossil fuels and has questioned the existence of human-made climate change.
Also over the weekend, Mr. Trump announced that Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, will serve as his White House press secretary. At 27, she will be the youngest person ever to hold the position that will serve as the public face of the administration and hold daily briefings for the White House press corps.
Mr. Trump also named Steven Cheung, who served as a spokesperson on all three presidential campaigns, to serve as White House communications director. In addition, Mr. Trump announced that Sergio Gor, the former CEO of the company that produces his books, will oversee the presidential personnel office.
Mr. Cheung has been a longtime fixture in Mr. Trump’s inner circle, working alongside Susie Wiles, soon to be the next president’s chief of staff, and Chris LaCivita on his 2024 campaign. He was known for his sharp-tongued comments to the press featuring barbed attacks on Democrats and Mr. Trump’s critics in the GOP.
Mr. Gor will be focused on filling jobs in the administration and other personnel matters. He was the CEO of Winning Team Publishing, which he co-founded with Donald Trump Jr.
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The elder Mr. Trump has published three books through the company, including one with the famous photo of the bloodied candidate pumping his fist in the air after a July assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The least expensive of the books retails for $74.99.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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