Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, met to advance President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.
June 6, 2025
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In Case You Missed It— U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright traveled to Alaska earlier this week, where he joined U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to advance President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential. In Anchorage and on the North Slope, Secretary Wright met with state, local and tribal leaders as well as Alaskan energy workers, held bilateral meetings with foreign energy ministers to advance American energy projects like Alaska LNG, and participated in a keynote fireside chat at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference.
“I was proud to join my colleagues, Doug Burgum and Lee Zeldin, in Alaska to help fulfill President Trump’s mission of unleashing Alaska to create a safe, prosperous, and opportunity-filled future,” said Secretary Wright. “Alaska has always been a big bold place, a big bold idea, full of big bold people. Unfortunately, the last administration especially and many before them sought to shut down Alaska in the name of climate nonsense. Those days are over. The Trump Administration is fully committed to restoring the rights and liberties of Alaskans, because when Alaska is unleashed, the entire country and world benefits.”
Click here to watch a highlight video of the trip and here to download and view photos from the visit.
Roundtable in Anchorage
On Sunday, Secretaries Wright and Burgum and Administrator Zeldin joined Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) for a roundtable discussion in Anchorage with leaders from across Alaska’s resource development industry.
WATCH: Alaska Resources Roundtable with Secretary Burgum, Secretary Wright and Administrator Zeldin
Town hall in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska
The delegation then traveled to the capital of Alaska’s North Slope Borough, Utqiagvik, Alaska, for a town hall with the predominantly Alaska-Native community. The cabinet members heard from a variety of community leaders and residents from villages across the North Slope who described how President Trump’s agenda has positively impacted their future.
“The people of Kaktovik have been prisoners in our own ancestral homelands because the refuge was placed on top of us, restricting not just oil and gas development, but our movements. . . I’m so proud of our President because he made sure that our ancestral homelands weren’t going to be stolen... if the other guy would have won, there's no doubt in my mind that our homeland would have been stolen and there's nothing we could have done about it. But on day one, Trump had the heart and the wherewithal to be able to right this wrong and I'm extremely grateful for that. . . In the words of our commander in chief, President, Donald J. Trump, drill baby drill.” —Charles Lampe, resident of Kaktovik, Alaska, the only village in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
Tour of Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and meetings with industry leaders and international energy ministers in Prudhoe Bay
On Monday, the delegation visited Prudhoe Bay. They began at Pump Station 1 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) they met with energy workers and delivered remarks. Upon arrival, Secretary Wright and his colleagues greeted international dignitaries from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who joined for the day’s events.
“Today, oil is the largest source of energy on the planet and the fastest source of energy on the planet is natural gas. You have the big two right here: let’s double oil production, build the big, beautiful twin pipeline, and we will help energize the world, strengthen our country and strengthen our families.” –Secretary Wright
The delegation also held a roundtable discussion with foreign energy representatives and U.S. industry executives, focused on international investment, LNG demand, and energy security partnerships. They also toured the Hilcorp Central Gas Facility and visited the Prudhoe Bay Discovery Well—highlighting Alaska’s legacy and future as a cornerstone of American energy production.
Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference and bilateral energy meetings
At the 2025 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference, Secretaries Wright and Burgum and Administrator Zeldin joined Governor Dunleavy for a keynote discussion on the Administration’s progress and future plans for expanding resource development in Alaska.
“The main thing we’re looking to get is people that want to buy Alaskan natural gas, and I think we’ve seen tremendous interest in that.” –Secretary Wright at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference
Secretary Wright also held bilateral meetings with the energy minister from the Philippines and Taiwan authorities.
Advancing President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
Throughout the visit, Secretary Wright and the delegation also discussed the enormous potential of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes provisions to mandate lease sales in the Cook Inlet and ANWR with an increased cost-share for Alaska, initiate a de-risking program for LNG projects, enact energy permitting reforms, and deliver higher wages and lower energy costs for American families.
Making headlines across the country
- Wall Street Journal: Meet Trump’s Deregulators
- Alaska’s News Source: ‘Expressed interest’ in an Alaska LNG pipeline said to be over $115 billion
- Your Alaska Link: Trump Administration pushes for expanded oil and gas drilling in Alaska
- Anchorage Daily News: Top Trump officials visit Prudhoe Bay, vowing to see a ‘big beautiful’ pipeline built
- Alaska Public Media: During Prudhoe Bay tour, Trump officials tout oil pipeline and potential gasline
- CNBC: Trump administration is convinced massive Alaska energy project will find investors despite steep cost
- Fox Business: Trump administration to open 13 million Alaska acres to mining, drilling
- Associated Press: Trump officials visit key operations at prolific Alaska oil field amid push to expand drilling
- The Washington Free Beacon: Alaska Natives Cheer as Trump Admin Axes Biden-Era Oil Drilling Restrictions
- The Washington Free Beacon: Trump Admin Eyes Using Loan Office Biden Revived for Green Energy Projects To Back $44 Billion Gas Pipeline
- Daily Caller: Trump Admin Walks Back Biden Rule ‘Smothering’ Alaskan Oil
- Washington Examiner: Trump energy officials visit Alaska in bid to unleash state’s energy resources
- Bloomberg: Trump Moves to Lift Biden-Era Curbs on Arctic Oil Drilling
- Fox News: Biden’s regulations worse than North Korea, Trump energy secretary says
- Fox News: Energy groups celebrate Trump's latest move to unleash Alaska drilling