President-Elect Donald Trump’s Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Interior transition teams are taking shape with newly announced appointments Tuesday.
Thomas Pyle, who currently serves as the president of the Institute for Energy Research, will lead the Department of Energy transition team. Prior to his work with the Institute for Energy Research, Pyle spent nearly 5 years lobbying for Koch Industries. According to his LinkedIn page, as director of federal affairs for Koch, Pyle “[a]nalyzed federal legislative and political developments for their impact on Koch businesses. Advised Koch business leaders, officers and board on appropriate responses to federal policy. Served as liaison to industry associations.”
Doug Domenech, who currently serves as Director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s “Fueling Freedom Project,” will serve on the Department of the Interior transition team. Domenech served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Interior Department during the George W. Bush administration.
Monday’s announcement also confirms the appointment of Myron Ebell to the EPA transition team. Ebell leads the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and chairs the “Cooler Heads Coalition,” which describes itself as an “informal and ad-hoc group focused on dispelling the myths of global warming by exposing flawed economic, scientific, and risk analysis.”
