Energy Dream Team Off To A Supercharged Start

March 10, 2025

America’s Energy Dream Team hits the field.

It’s still less than two months since President Trump and his new administration got to work, but getting to work is literally what they’ve done. While many presidents would still be trying to get their team nominated and approved by Congress, this administration has already put most of its players on the field. 

And, already, some of the most effective players have been America’s new Energy Dream Team. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Chief Lee Zeldin have hit the ground running—undoing some of the most damaging energy policies of the last administration and administering new common-sense policies that will reinstate America’s energy dominance. 

Burgum: Unleash America’s Energy Dominance.

During the previous administration, we saw a lot of policies designed to discourage American energy exploration, and as a result, our energy freedom and dominance took a lot of hits. But, under new Secretary of the Interior Burgum, that course is already being corrected. 

On his first day in office, Burgum unveiled a series of departmental orders designed to unleash America’s energy resources and streamline his department with common sense policy changes. Burgum clearly gets it, saying: “We are committed to working collaboratively to unlock America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation.”

Among Burgum’s orders are policies designed to “unleash” American energy and “encourage energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader.” In 2022, approximately 11% of oil and 9% of natural gas produced in the U.S. came from federal lands. And, the amount of revenue derived from these federal leases is second only to the taxes collected by the Internal Revenue Service—with a much greater return. 

Zeldin saves taxpayers $170 million.

EPA Chief Zeldin has had his hands full saving the American taxpayers’ money. Since he stepped into office just weeks ago, Zeldin’s efforts have found over $170 million in taxpayer savings mostly from canceling so-called “environmental justice grants” that the Biden Administration doled out. Zeldin even discovered $20 billion that the Biden Administration had hidden at an outside financial institution as they scurried to get taxpayer dollars out the door for partisan projects in their last days in office. One Biden appointee likened it to “tossing gold bars off the Titanic.” 

Meanwhile, Zeldin’s EPA has still been getting the job done on the ground protecting our environment. The President issued an order for cleanup of hazardous materials resulting from the Los Angeles wildfires, and the EPA met the goal and then some. Within 30 days, the first phase of this cleanup was complete, providing the real and tangible services that Americans need from its EPA following such an unfortunate disaster. 

Zeldin is making it clear that he understands the assignment. A return to the core environmental services of his department while cutting the wasteful, politicized spending rampant in the previous administration is the right course for getting back to the common-sense environmental policies America needs. 

Wright is still right.

Last month, we said we were extremely happy with the appointment of new Energy Secretary Wright and his understanding of how to meet America’s energy needs through innovation and technology, rather than protest and propaganda. We’re glad to say, Wright is already delivering the results we expected. 

Wright has mirrored TEA’s calls for an increased investment in nuclear energy—combined with affordable, reliable and clean American energy sources like natural gas—as the solution for the coming electricity demand from the technology sector for artificial intelligence and other advances that will draw on our grid. 

And, he didn’t stop there. In his first act in office, Wright signed an order to “Unleash a Golden Era of American Energy Dominance” that includes a number of smart policies to do just that. On Inauguration Day, the Department of Energy “resumed consideration of pending applications to export American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. in accordance with the Natural Gas Act.” And, by mid-February, Wright announced approval of a new export authorization for the Commonwealth LNG project proposed for Cameron Parish, Louisiana—the first since the Biden Administration froze LNG export permit approvals. 

Wright: “Exporting American LNG strengthens the U.S. economy and supports American jobs while bolstering energy security around the world, and I am proud to be working with President Trump to get American energy exports back on track.” According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. LNG exports are now expected to reach record highs in 2025, at the same time we are enjoying record high natural gas production. 

American Energy Dominance needs TEA’s Common Sense Energy Agenda. 

At TEA, we are extremely excited to see these smart and bold moves to return America to a place of energy dominance by focusing on affordability for consumers, reliable energy sources to power our future and environmental protections focused on making a difference now rather than in some propagandized doomsday future scenario. But, we also know that it’s very easy to make a splash early in the game, especially when the old team botched their plays and ignored the rules. 

What America and its energy future needs now is long-term and consistent policies built on common-sense and what works. TEA’s Common Sense Agenda includes those exact kinds of policies. The very first step—the ARC Energy Security Act—is model legislation that our leaders can use to bring affordable, reliable and clean energy security to the Americans that need it most.  

The Energy Dream Team that Trump has assembled clearly recognizes this need and are well-equipped to meet it. This is the opportunity to show the American people and the world that sound energy policies can lead to prosperity, security and freedom in all walks of life. Now, the Energy Dream Team must remain vigilant and maximize the next four years to make those policies reality for America’s future.