Trump Stacks “Opening the Economy” Energy Council with Fossil Fuel Donors

by Amy Westervelt and Emily Gertz | Apr 23, 2020

Eight oil and gas executives tapped by the White House for a 12-member energy industry economic task force “have collectively made more than $4.2 million in political contributions” to Republican PACs and candidates since June 2015, reported HuffPost. There are no representatives from the clean energy sector on the task force, one of several the White House announced in mid-April to “chart the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity [and]produce a more independent, self-sufficient, and resilient Nation” [sic]. Status: Task forces announced April 14, 2020.

Amy Westervelt

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Amy Westervelt is the editor-in-chief of Drilled News, creator and host of the Drilled podcast, and founder of the Critical Frequency podcast network, named AdWeek's Podcast Network of the Year in 2019. An award-winning print and audio journalist, Amy has contributed to The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, as well as KQED, The California Report, Capital Public Radio, and many other outlets. She is the 2015 winner of the Rachel Carson award for "women greening journalism," and a 2016 winner of an Edward R. Murrow award for her series on the impacts of the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada. In 2019, the Drilled podcast won the Online News Association's "Excellence in Audio Storytelling" award.

Emily Gertz

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Emily J. Gertz is senior editor of Drilled News. A longtime environmental reporter and editor, her work has appeared in HuffPost, Reveal, Arctic Today, The Guardian, Popular Science, Scientific American, Sierra, and more.