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The pursuing is the transcript of the interrogation with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected Jan. 11, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: This morning, President Trump vowed that Venezuela present has the subject extortion of the US. This comes conscionable 1 week aft helium said the US would tally that country. Meanwhile, Venezuelan absorption person Maria Corina Machado is expected to question to Washington to conscionable with President Trump this week. For his part, Mr. Trump and his squad met with dozens of US lipid executives precocious past week, urging them to perpetrate $100 cardinal to boost lipid accumulation there. Joining america present to sermon it each is the United States Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, bully to person you present successful person.
SECRETARY CHRIS WRIGHT: Thanks for having me, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I inquire you astir Venezuela, precise quickly, these protests successful Iran, not this state reliant connected lipid to support its authorities controlled system afloat. The President has been briefed connected subject options. What is the US consenting to bash to help?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Certainly the President has been precise outspoken astir wanting to person state and regularisation of instrumentality and capitalism and large relations with the United States return. So we'll see. I deliberation his motivation enactment has been strong. Certainly, he's taken a beardown stance against the mullahs successful Iran successful disabling their atomic program. I deliberation the radical successful Iran are rising up due to the fact that they consciousness there's a beardown America that has their back. I won't spell into the specifics there, but we privation them well, and we'd emotion to spot a escaped and antiauthoritarian Iran again.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Will determination beryllium much interdictions of vessels carrying Iranian oil? Any much enactment connected that front?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: I won't uncover immoderate alteration successful presumption there.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, fto maine inquire you astir Venezuela,
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: wherever you person been precise focused and precise cardinal to the President's policy. The President said that Venezuela present has the United States, the astir almighty subject successful the world, to support them. To support them, we will. Is the United States subject providing information guarantees for American companies?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: We're not doing that close now, but what we, what helium means, is we're changing the crippled for what's happening successful the crushed successful Venezuela. Venezuela has purchased $20 cardinal of Russian weapons. They got Cuban mercenaries there. They proviso lipid to Cuba. They, they harbor the Hezbollah's office for the Western Hemisphere. Venezuela has been a precise dangerous, precise destabilized spot going down the tubes. And with the United States power present by controlling the merchantability of their lipid and truthful the travel of funds into the country, we deliberation we're going to, we volition spot comparatively accelerated change, betterment connected the crushed successful Venezuela. This is simply a process. We're lone 8 days into the process, but it's disconnected to a beardown start.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it's disconnected to a speedy start. You had the lipid executives astatine the White House conscionable Friday. That the President, excuse me, the State Department yesterday had a information alert I privation to inquire you astir due to the fact that it specifically cited the hazard to Americans successful Venezuela, and it said equipped militias are mounting up roadblocks, searching vehicles for grounds of US citizenship oregon enactment for the US. The antheral who runs those militias is Diosdado Cabello, who is the Minister of the Interior. Is helium ordering the hunting of Americans?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Not that we are alert of, but we should beryllium cautious. Look, this is, arsenic they say, 8 days into a alteration into a alteration of enactment there. The interim authorities are trying to found power. Collectivos person been moving chaotic over, implicit Venezuela for, for implicit a decade. So, yeah, you're not going to–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. Well helium controls them.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: He does.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So is helium harmless successful his position? Because close present the medication seems to beryllium moving with him.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: We request to enactment with the radical that person the guns contiguous to yet determination the state to a typical authorities and a amended station. But what you've got to forestall successful the mean word is simply a illness of the nation. And I deliberation the beardown moves we're making close present is to power the radical with the guns today, which is portion of a process.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And you're not acrophobic he's going to undermine the much concern minded President Delcy Rodriguez?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Oh, of people we're disquieted astir things similar that. We request to get stableness among the enactment successful Venezuela. So yes, of people we're acrophobic astir those things.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So archer maine broadly, is the Trump administration's extremity present to get the authorities lipid company, PDVSA, and to tally it. Are you going to enactment Americans connected the board? How is this going to work?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Well, again, it's a process. The archetypal happening to bash is to trim the harm to the United States, the inflow of guns and criminals and immigrants and drugs into the United States, the destabilizing of a cardinal portion of the Western Hemisphere. We request to halt that. That's wherefore we've entered into Venezuela. Certainly, portion of the mode to amended Venezuela and to amended the Western Hemisphere and amended the lives of Americans is to get their precise corrupt 25 years successful decline, lipid manufacture backmost going again.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean the United States authorities is going to tally it? The president says we're going to tally the country. Are we moving this arsenic similar arsenic an American authorities owned lipid institution essentially?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: No. Today we are moving the merchantability of their crudes. You know, we person a quarantine astir their quality to vessel lipid extracurricular of Venezuela. All of that goes done American crude marketers, and past that crude goes retired into the market. We cod those funds and bring them backmost to Venezuela to amended the lives of Americans and Venezuelans. But successful the agelong run, what volition hap with Venezuelan lipid resources? Yeah, of course, rather apt you'll spot American companies' expanded beingness there. You'll spot increasing production. Of course, you're going to spot much American engagement successful there. But precisely however that's going to work, that's going to unfold implicit time.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So backmost successful November, us, Judge backed a bid by an American hedge money to acquisition Citgo Petroleum. The Treasury inactive has to o.k. that deal. The hedge money is really tally by a large Trump donor, Paul Singer. Do you privation to sphere Venezuelan ownership of Citgo? Do you privation to person America person a fiscal involvement successful it, similar Trump bought a large information of an intel company, bash you privation to ain portions of lipid companies?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Again, that's going to beryllium up to American businesses. That's surely a precise existent possibility. The Citgo merchantability is portion of, is portion of bringing redress to creditors of the United States for the Venezuelan Government. And of course, one, 1 of the superior providers successful that transaction is simply a hedge money supplier you conscionable mentioned. There's tons of American investors and American refining entrepreneurs that are progressive successful that truthful to instrumentality Venezuelan owned refineries that are successful the United States and legally done an auction process, transportation them to American owners and American entrepreneurs successful the refining business. I deliberation that's fantastic.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There's interest astir corruption here, though. Will determination beryllium Americans installed connected these boards? And however bash you respond to these allegations that immoderate Trump donors are going to get preferential treatment?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: I tin guarantee you that is perfectly not the case. Absolutely not the case. Think of what President Trump has done for the American lipid and state industry. He's driven down the terms of oil. He's dramatically reduced–
MARGARET BRENNAN: There's an implicit proviso of oil. And present you're going to enactment much connected the market.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Exactly. That's not- That's not bully for American lipid and state companies.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Because it makes it little profitable for them to really spell and put successful drill, baby, drill.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Exactly. Democrats and President Biden are fantastic for American lipid and state companies due to the fact that they effort to restrict the proviso to thing that's indispensable to life, which lone has 1 imaginable impact, which is to thrust up prices and turn profitability. So President Trump is no, is nary helper to the lipid and state industry. And surely there's nary corruption, preferential placement of people. There's nary of that. I tin guarantee you of that. I'm successful the halfway of this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How are you going to determine the contracts? Is the Treasury going to o.k. the Citgo dominance determination successful that–
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: That went done a ample auction to bargain it.
MARGARET BRENNAN
Are you going to little to Congress the decisions you're making astir which firms get access?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Absolutely. All that was an auction unfastened to each American firms. There were galore bidders, including the conjugation of bidders you mentioned. We privation those assets to get arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic possible, to spell backmost to the creditors of the Venezuelan Government. And we privation American refinery assets owned by Americans that are going to summation the throughput, thrust down the terms of gasoline successful America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. So Secretary Rubio said there's a 3 constituent plan, stabilize, rehabilitate, transition. This sounds indefinite, adjacent erstwhile you heard immoderate of those lipid executives, Chevron's leadership, they're already successful Venezuela, we should say, said it volition instrumentality 18 to 24 months to adjacent summation lipid accumulation by 50%. So however agelong is this American involvement? Because he's saying there, it's astatine slightest a twelvemonth and a half, 2 years.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: They've been determination for 100 years, and likely, Chevron's going to beryllium determination 50 years from now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But the United States government, however agelong does that relation continue?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: You heard the 3rd portion of Rubio's question, which is transition. We privation to bring a typical authorities to the radical of Venezuela. I deliberation past you'll spot the afloat sovereignty backmost to the authorities of Venezuela. We don't person a morganatic authorities of Venezuela today. We'd similar to determination and get there, but America–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is determination a timeline?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: 25 years, this state has gone successful decline. President Trump retired of the box, originative involution has allowed america to alteration the game. But, yeah, I don't cognize the timeline of that. It's not weeks, it's much months. Could beryllium a twelvemonth oregon 2 could beryllium more.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Secretary Wright, convey you for your clip today.
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