Dan Brouliette

Dan Brouillette was the Trump administration’s Secretary of Energy from 2019 to 2021 and was the Deputy Secretary of the department before that. Unlike some other secretaries who resigned after the January 6 insurrection, Brouillette remained in Trump’s cabinet until the end of his term. He used “his tenure at the Energy Department to promote fossil fuels, roll back energy efficiency measures and question climate science.” Trump loyalist Peter Navarro suggested Brouillette be returned to the same post in any second administration.

Brouillette was one of several Trump administration officials that the independent Office of Special Counsel found violated the Hatch Act, which prevents executive branch employees from using their official authority to influence an election, in his attempts to influence the 2020 presidential election.

Brouillette has rejected the scientific consensus on human-caused carbon emissions fueling climate change and sought to downplay the science, asserting: “We have a lot to learn about what causes changes in the climate, and we’re not there yet.” He has called coal “essential to this nation.” He helped block the phaseout of incandescent bulbs in favor of energy efficient lighting. He also supported Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord. Brouillette was also accused of burying numerous clean energy research studies and failed to appoint a scientific integrity officer as required by the Department of Energy’s scientific integrity policy.

He also claimed efforts to stop pipeline construction were “extremist.” After the end of the Trump administration, Brouillette became the president of Sempra Infrastructure, where he oversaw a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline project in Port Arthur, Texas. In 2024, Brouillette became the CEO of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade association of utility companies that has actively sought to obstruct climate change mitigation by opposing net metering, which aids the transition to distributed solar power. It has also sued the Biden administration over an EPA regulation on carbon capture and storage. Until joining EEI, Brouillette spent his time post-administration serving as president of Sempra Infrastructure, a liquefied natural gas company.

Before working for Ford Motor Company and the United Services Automobile Association, Brouillette served in the Department of Energy as Assistant Secretary for legislative affairs under George W. Bush. He was also the chief of staff and staff director for Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) when Tauzin led the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Brouillette served in the Army in the 1980s.