Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) joined us in Milwaukee Wednesday for a pop-up conversation presented by ExxonMobil at Punchbowl News HQ at the Republican National Convention.
Pfluger projected confidence about House Republicans’ chances of retaining and growing their majority. The second-term lawmaker also shared his views on America’s energy policy and called for permitting reform.
Here are the key takeaways from the conversation.
2024 landscape: Pfluger said he remains “bullish” about House Republicans’ prospects in the November election. He predicted the GOP will sweep the House, Senate and White House.
Pfluger cautioned, however, that the country is no longer in an era where the balance of power in the House could swing by 30 to 40 seats. Pfluger said a GOP gain of seven to eight seats would be a “good night.” And a 13- to 14-seat swing in the party’s favor would be a “great night.”
“I do think we’re going to have the trifecta, but we’re going to have to work for it,” Pfluger added.
Pfluger also predicted that former President Donald Trump’s speech on the final night of the GOP convention tonight will be about “bringing us together” and that people will be “pleasantly surprised.” Trump has said he revised his acceptance speech after the assassination attempt on Saturday.
Energy security: Pfluger took a swing at the Biden administration for what he described as an “assault on the energy industry” in the name of clean air and water.
Pfluger said environmental goals shouldn’t be achieved at the expense of affordability and reliability for U.S. energy sources.
He took particular issue with the Biden administration’s decision to pause new liquified natural gas export approvals. He argued the United States should instead be sending LNG “all over the world.”
“If you care about the climate, we do it a lot cleaner than places like Russia,” added Pfluger, whose congressional district includes the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil field in the country.
Permitting reform: Reforms to America’s complicated permitting process have been a bipartisan dream on Capitol Hill, but there hasn’t been much progress on legislation.
Pfluger said he wants permitting reform to be part of a House GOP reconciliation package within the first six months of 2025.
Fireside chat: Later, Bart Cahir, ExxonMobil’s senior vice president for Upstream Unconventional, joined us for a fireside chat.
Cahir said the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export approvals is “a huge mistake” that’s creating uncertainty across the board. Cahir argued that it’s possible to produce energy that’s affordable and reliable but also “responsibly” sourced.
“We see total demand for energy continuing to increase,” Cahir said. “Much of the world lives in energy poverty and we expect over time they’ll get the benefit of more reliable and affordable energy.”
Cahir also echoed Pfluger’s calls for permitting reform, arguing that companies like his need a “clear path” to know when they can get to a “yes” or “no” on a particular energy project.
“Permitting certainty is something that is critically important as an investor,” Cahir said. “They’re billion-dollar investments. We need investor certainty.”
America’s Energy: We also hosted a panel discussion in partnership with America’s Energy, featuring CEOS from the American Clean Power Association, the American Gas Association, the Edison Electric Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Watch the full conversation here. And read our recap here.
– Andrew Desiderio
