My family’s morning routine is usually pretty ordinary. We wake up early, drink coffee, and get our 1 year old ready for daycare. But one Wednesday morning last month, I found myself uttering a phrase to my wife that seemed frankly surreal to us: “Just so you know, I’m about to call Trump. »
Then, hoping to avoid any urgent diaper events, I snuck into the next room and called the president.
I’ve been trying to reach President Donald Trump for a few days. Each time, my heart started beating wildly. After nearly two decades as a journalist, I’m reasonably used to talking to powerful people. But cold calling the President of the United States – on his personal cell phone – made me feel like a little journalist again.
“Good morning?” » said a voice on the other end of the line. This time, the president had picked up.
I introduced myself and told Trump I was a reporter at ProPublica.
“I’m writing the story of one of your big supporters in the oil industry, Jeff Hildebrand,” I said. “Can I ask what you think of him?”
At this point, I had spent months reporting on Hildebrand, a little-known billionaire — and major Trump donor — who owns an empire of low-producing oil and gas wells across the country. “Extraction wells” like these contribute relatively little to the U.S. energy supply but emit large amounts of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.
In calling the president, I was hoping for some color on his relationship with Hildebrand. After all, he had appointed Hildebrand’s wife ambassador to Costa Rica. My reporting so far had also revealed that the administration was taking advice from Hildebrand-backed oil industry groups and was planning to weaken environmental regulations on stripping wells — which could make Hildebrand even richer.
“I hear he’s doing a good job,” Trump responded. “I don’t know him very well. OK?”
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At first, I thought this exchange detracted from my story, making Hildebrand appear less central to the president’s energy policy than I had imagined. But I realized that Trump’s comments illustrated something important about how this administration works. Trump seemed to have no idea about Hildebrand’s business, but when I mentioned that it was threatened by “Biden’s methane rules,” the president was quick to respond: “We’re certainly doing the opposite of what Biden did.” »
In other words, Trump may be only vaguely aware that people and groups are helping to rewrite all sorts of consequential policies. But what matters in Washington right now is not so much the technical details of policy as support for the president and an affinity with the larger ideological project: deregulating everything.
Even though the president only vaguely knows Hildebrand, the oil tycoon is someone you should know. As a climate journalist, I’m always looking for ways to make the seemingly abstract problem of global warming more concrete, more accessible and even more personal. With Hildebrand, I felt like I had found a compelling character who is also an illustration of a problem with enormous consequences: Stripping wells collectively contribute only 6 percent of the nation’s oil and gas, but scientists having found they are responsible for about half of the sector’s methane pollution. This means they play a huge role in climate change, which amplifies heat waves, droughts and wildfires.
My previous report showed that a former Hildebrand Company lobbyist — who now holds a top position at the Environmental Protection Agency — rewrote methane regulations with advice from the oil industry. (An EPA spokesperson said the official “fulfilled all of his ethical obligations to the letter.”)
The EPA’s press office declined to comment on the details of its plans, but confirmed it was working on a proposal to “provide relief” to the oil industry, saying in a statement: “We have heard regularly from America’s oil and natural gas producers (shocking that we are meeting with stakeholders) that the Biden-Harris administration’s oil and gas regulations are unworkable and unnecessarily restricting America’s energy dominance.” »
In the story we finally publishedI took a deep dive into how Hildebrand made his fortune, racking up dozens of environmental violations across the country, and is now benefiting from the pushback from his former lobbyist.
I asked Hildebrand for an interview several times, I even sent a letter to his home, but he did not respond. A spokesperson for his company, Hilcorp, said its operations complied with state and federal rules, adding that Hilcorp was “proud” of recent efforts to reduce its methane emissions.
As with many stories about climate change, this can all seem rather bleak. But in a world where solutions to global warming can seem incredibly daunting, limiting methane pollution from stripping wells is the rare solution at hand, Andrew Logan of Ceres, a climate advocacy group, told me. “If you could lose 6% of production and cut emissions in half, who wouldn’t be in that trade? » » Logan said.
Instead, the Trump administration is doubling down on the forms of energy that contribute most to global warming. In January, the president invited Hildebrand and two dozen other energy executives to the White House to discuss investments in Venezuela’s decrepit oil industry — which emits more methane, relative to its production, than almost any other major oil-producing country, according to the International Energy Agency.
Many leaders expressed enthusiasm with reservations. ExxonMobil’s CEO called Venezuela “uninvestable” without changes to its legal system. The boss of ConocoPhillips wanted funding from the American government.
But Hildebrand had already seen how loyalty could be rewarded. Although he had no notable activity outside the United States, he leaned toward a microphone and said in a hesitant voice, “Hilcorp is fully committed and ready to rebuild infrastructure in Venezuela.” »
“That’s good,” Trump said. “You will be very happy.”