Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

How big oil is tightening its grip on Donald Trump's White House

The Guardian: When Rick Perry was interrupted by climate-change protesters during his address to the National Petroleum Council in late September, the energy secretary was ready with a retort.

“You want to talk about something that saves lives? It’s the access to energy around the globe,” Perry said, countering a woman worried about deadly hurricanes and a man whose hometown is being submerged by the rising Philippine Sea. “I am proud to be a part of this industry. I am proud to be an American.”

It was an opportunity for the former Texas governor to champion an industry he’d long embraced by showing fealty to the petroleum council, an arcane federal advisory committee dominated by energy executives. Picking up on Perry’s message was interior secretary Ryan Zinke, who has pledged to fast-track drilling and open more areas to fossil-fuel development.

The two took turns reassuring the council’s nearly 200 members during a meeting at the opulent Hay-Adams hotel in Washington DC, that the White House would be a friend, not foe, to big oil. “We’re now in the business of being partners, rather than adversaries,” Zinke said. “If I were in the industry, I’d be pretty happy.”

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