Second Trump Administration – Department of Energy

Nominations and Appointments

In April 2026, Chris Wright was serving as the Secretary of Energy. Wright’s career has focused on expanding domestic energy production. Wright previously founded Pinnacle Technologies, a company focused on shale gas production, and later worked as the chief executive officer of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm involved in hydraulic fracturing and energy development. Wright’s career has focused on expanding domestic energy production, and he has worked with technologies across oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, and small modular nuclear reactors. Prior to his appointment, Wright also sat on the board of Oklo Inc., a company that develops nuclear reactors.  ^{1  2  3}

In April 2026, James P. Danly was serving as Deputy Secretary of Energy. Prior to this position, Danly served as both the Chairman and General Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) during the first Trump administration and later worked in private practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Army, including deployments to Iraq. ^{4  5}

In April 2026, Jonathan Brightbill was serving as General Counsel of the Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to this role, Brightbill was a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP and previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) during the first Trump administration. ⁶

In April 2026, Tina Pierce was serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Energy (DOE). Prior to this role, Pierce had worked in federal financial management and budgeting roles and also previously served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Defense (DOD). ⁷

Wells Griffith previously served as Undersecretary of Energy in the second Trump administration. Griffith, who had also served in energy policy roles during the first Trump administration, was removed from the position on October 14, 2025. ⁸ Following Griffith’s departure, Alex Fitzsimmons was appointed to serve as Acting Undersecretary. ⁹ As of April 28th, 2026, Assistant Secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) Kyle Haustveit had been nominated to serve as Undersecretary, though he had not yet been confirmed. ¹⁰

In April 2026, Brandon Williams was serving as Undersecretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Prior to this role, Williams previously represented New York’s 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025. Before his time in Congress, Williams served as a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer and later worked as a technology entrepreneur. ^{11  12}

As of April 2026, Dario Gil was serving as Undersecretary for Science and Innovation. Prior to this role, Gil served as senior vice president and director of IBM Research. Gil had also served on the President’s Council of Science and Technology Advisors (PCAST) and the National Science Board (NSB), as well as on the boards of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the New York Academy of Sciences, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the New York Hall of Science, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).  ¹³

As of April 2026, Catherine Jereza was serving as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity. Prior to this role, Jereza served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transmission Permitting and Technical Assistance at the Department of Energy (DOE) during the first Trump administration and was also the corporate vice president for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). ¹⁴

As of April 2026, Audrey Robertson was serving as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. Robertson previously co-founded Franklin Mountain Energy and Copper Trail Partners and worked as a partner and senior managing director at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. Robertson also worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and has sat on the board of Liberty Energy. ¹⁵

As of April 2026, Timothy J. Walsh was serving as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management. Prior to this role, Walsh served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before working in private-sector development and construction. ¹⁶

As of April 2026, Kyle Haustveit was serving as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy (HGEO). Haustveit was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) on September 18, 2025, but the Department of Energy (DOE) later rebranded the Office of Fossil Energy to the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) on November 20, 2025. ¹⁷ Haustveit previously worked at Devon Energy developing hydraulic fracturing technologies and later oversaw emerging energy investments including geothermal energy, carbon utilization, and lithium extraction. ¹⁸

David Eisner was nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs but later withdrew from consideration for the position. ¹⁹ Kaveh Farzad was nominated for the position but had not been confirmed as of April 28, 2026. ²⁰