Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former Trump administration official is set to take over as leader of a top oil and gas industry lobby group, just as the group’s former leader is set to join the Trump administration.
In a Wednesday press release, the Western Energy Alliance announced that Melissa Simpson would become the group’s next president. Simpson served as a deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources at the State Department during Trump’s first term. She is set to take over for Kathleen Sgamma, whom Trump nominated to run the Bureau of Land Management in February.
The Trump administration is deeply connected with the oil and gas industry, with industry lobbyists and insiders serving in key capacities in the administration. The industry was also influential in drafting Project 2025, the right-wing playbook that has directed much of Trump’s policy moves so far. Sgamma, the BLM nominee, was a co-author of a chapter that called for slashing protections for public lands to boost oil and gas drilling.
In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:
“Since Day One, Trump has made it clear that he thinks corporate polluters should reap the benefits of public lands, not the American people.
“This White House and the oil and gas industry have a revolving door between them – one insider leaves the administration, and another is waiting to come in. The line between the Trump administration and Big Oil CEOs is so fine, it might as well not exist.
“It has never been more clear that Donald Trump sees public lands as goodies to hand over to billionaires, not the landscapes and waters that make this country great.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.