Senate Democrats ask Republicans to delay the hearing on Trump's Energy Secretary nominee

Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee asked the Republican chairman of the panel to postpone Tuesday's confirmation hearing of Donald Trump's nominee to head the Department of Energy. They cited a delay in the paperwork.

The hearing for Chris Wright will be held on Wednesday. Wright intends to step down from his position as Liberty Energy's CEO and Chairman once he has been confirmed as Energy Secretary. It is expected that he will help Trump's energy dominance policy by increasing the production of U.S. gas and oil.

Senator Martin Heinrich and his Democratic colleagues, as well as an independent member of the committee, sent a letter to Republican Senator Mike Lee. They said that the committee had not received any paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics about Wright. The senators urged Lee, the Republican Senator who chairs the committee, to delay the hearing at least one week. Documentation includes a financial report and an ethical agreement.

The OGE stated that it would not comment on specific cases.

Lee, citing the OGE, postponed on Monday the nomination hearing of Doug Burgum by two days, until Thursday. Democrats had asked him to delay the hearing by a week.

Burgum, Trump's nominee for Interior Secretary, is expected to head a new council that will boost the domestic oil and natural gas production which is already reaching record levels.

Lee's Office did not respond immediately to a comment request about the timing for Wright's hearing.

(source: Reuters)