Meet the key players who are shaping the US's energy and environmental future for years to come

scott pruitt rick perry ryan zinke trump pence energy environment

President Donald Trump and his Cabinet members have slowly been filling open positions in top jobs that will shape the country's environmental policy and energy decisions for years to come.

While the three Cabinet-level hires are in place, Trump has only nominated seven of the remaining 29 positions that require Senate confirmation, leaving 22 key jobs vacant.

We've compiled a list of the energy and environmental leaders we do know about, including the heads of Senate and House committees, since they too play a heavy roll in developing policy.

Here's the who's-who of energy and environment in Washington, DC right now:

DON'T MISS: RANKED: The 10 best US senators for the environment

Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt, administrator

Climate change position: Asked on CNBC whether climate change was caused by carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, Pruitt answered: "I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see." He has repeated variations of this answer before and after taking office as the EPA administrator. That view contradicts the preponderance of evidence on climate change.

Served in government before: Yes, Pruitt served as the attorney general for the state of Oklahoma, and as a state senator.

EPA staff

Of the 10 other positions in the department that require Senate confirmation, Trump has only nominated one under secretary (Susan Bodine), who hasn't been approved yet. Nine top positions are vacant with no nominee, including the deputy secretary job, according to an analysis from The New York Times.

Business Insider also compiled a list of Pruitt's 45 recent political hires — seven of whom have direct ties to the coal, oil, or chemical industry. They are:

Troy Lyons, Associate Administrator for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations — industry: crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum; position: manager of federal government affairs at Hess Corporation.
Tate Bennett, Deputy Associate Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations — industry: coal; position: utility lobbyist for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Christian Palich, Deputy Associate Administrator for Congressional Relations — industry: coal; position: president of the Ohio Coal Association.
Liz Snyder Bowman, Acting Associate Administrator for Public Affairs — industry: chemicals/pesticides; position: Director of Issue and Advocacy Communications for American Chemistry Council.
Patrick Traylor, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance — industry: chemicals/pesticides; position: law clerk for American Chemistry Council.
Erik Baptist, Senior Deputy General Counsel — industry: oil and natural gas; position: senior counsel for the American Petroleum Institute.
Dr. Nancy Beck, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention — industry: chemicals/pesticides; position: senior director of regulatory science policy for American Chemistry Council.

You can find other hires here »

US Department of Energy: Rick Perry, secretary

Climate change position: Asked on CNBC whether carbon dioxide emissions from humans is the primary cause of climate change Rick Perry answered: "No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in. The fact is this shouldn't be a debate about, 'Is the climate changing, is man having an effect on it?' Yeah, we are. The question should be just how much, and what are the policy changes that we need to make to effect that?"

Served in government before: Yes, Perry was the longest-serving governor of Texas from 2000-2015. Before that he served as the lieutenant governor, and a state representative.

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