Hoeven Urges Key Interior, Energy Nominees to Work Toward Making U.S. Energy Dominant

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WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven urged two key nominees from the Trump administration to work toward making the U.S. energy dominant. The senator discussed how the following nominees can work with him in their respective positions to ensure access to affordable, reliable energy for the nation:

• Katharine MacGregor, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
  • MacGregor previously served in this role during the first Trump administration.
• James Danly, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Energy.
  • Danly previously served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from 2020 to 2023.

Hoeven also met with MacGregor and Danly prior to this week's hearing, where he stressed the need to:

• Roll back burdensome rules at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including:
  • The Public Lands Rule, which would overhaul the management of more than 245 million acres of taxpayer-owned lands and establish "conservation leases" to lock away federal lands and minerals.
  • The Resource Management Plan (RMP) for North Dakota, which closes off leasing to 45 percent of potential federal oil and gas acreage and nearly 99 percent of federal coal acreage in the state.
• Provide regulatory relief and timely permitting processes, including under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
• Maintain multiple use on federal lands, including for energy development, grazing and tourism.
• Ensure the reliability of the electrical grid by increasing access to baseload power, like coal, that is available 24/7. This includes:
  • Advancing the commercially-viable development of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology.

"Our vast coal, oil, and gas reserves make up our nation's most strategic asset, and we're committed to working with the Trump administration to roll back the policy mistakes of the past four years and make our nation truly energy dominant," said Hoeven. "Kate MacGregor and James Danly have a depth of experience, both from the private sector and their previous work at important agencies like the Department of the Interior and FERC. They will be important partners as we work to meet our nation's energy needs, whether it's realizing the full potential of our taxpayer-owned energy reserves, ensuring access to reliable sources of baseload electricity or bringing CCUS technologies to full commercial-viability."

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