After a week of watching hours of Senate confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, one poignant thought sticks with me more than any other: Hawaii. Does Democratic Sen. Maisie Hirono have a seat on every Senate committee?

The answer is no, but candidates ranging from Sen. Pete Hegseth (Defense) to former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (Judiciary) to former Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (Interior Affairs) That’s what it looked like when I started asking questions about it. ) Present the next iteration to Chris Wright (Energy), question: “…Since you became a legal adult, have you ever been subjected to unwanted demands for sexual favors, verbal or physical harassment, or assault of a sexual nature?”

Sadly, as the weeks went on, Hirono’s farcical questioning style proved to be more the norm than the exception among Democrats on these committees. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia literally finished questioning Hegseth. ask If he ever beat his wife, that was an obvious slur, which Hegseth denied.

This is a worrying indicator of the health of both the Democratic Party and the American Republic, and it was all sad to witness. But by Friday, all was clear: Democrats were unlikely to claim any scalps from this week’s list of candidates. When it comes to energy policy, the three most influential agencies/agencies in that area are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by former New York Republican congressman Lee Zeldin; It means high quality. Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and Light.

Never in the history of this country has there been a more capable, knowledgeable person in a leadership position to help reform and reverse the wasteful spending and misallocation of taxpayer dollars that has been a hallmark of President Joe Biden’s four-year presidential term. It is rare to have three talented people.

As I’ve written several times here, the inevitable consequences of nearly every aspect of the Biden Green New Deal are that China dominates global processing and supply chains, and the United States has no control over its energy security. This means that Japan will become dependent on China. Renewable energy and electric vehicle forms and raw materials. This is clearly not a sustainable situation, and it’s clear that Trump and the major candidates are well aware of that reality. (Related: David Blackmon: Does China know something the Biden administration doesn’t?)

America’s dependence on foreign adversaries is not limited to China. One such area of ​​involvement by other countries has high stakes related to the goal of a nuclear renaissance often touted by Republicans and some Democrats.

Mr. Wright and Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso had a revealing exchange. discussed The United States has recently become particularly dependent on Russia for imports of enriched uranium. As Mr. Wright pointed out, this is a technology first invented in the United States, but our country today has virtually no uranium enrichment capacity. As Wright puts it, this is a “sad situation” caused largely by the federal government’s misguided environmental and permitting policies.

Unfortunately, Biden’s cure for this pressing energy security problem could be even worse. As U.S. and NATO sanctions gradually halted Russia’s enriched uranium exports, the U.S. nuclear industry became dependent on imports from — you guessed it — China. (Related: David Blackmon: 10 things President Trump can do in his first 100 days for energy independence)

“Like those [sanctions] Shut down Russian uranium… imports from China will increase,” Wright said. testified. “We need to get through this without shutting down the nuclear power plants that are currently in operation. This is an area that requires immediate action.”

In another revealing exchange, President Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, criticized the senator’s claims that the U.S. is engaged in a “clean energy arms race” with China. He disagreed with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

“Senator Wyden, just to get the message across to everyone in this room: China will build 100 new coal-fired power plants this year. There is no clean energy race. There is an energy race,” Bessent said. answered. Truer words have never been spoken: it is impossible to win the energy race as the United States becomes dependent on China for its very energy needs.

These and other Trump candidates have a huge mess to clean up from the waste and extravagance of the Biden era. Fortunately for the country, their work begins on Monday. It’s never too early.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, specializing in public policy and communications.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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