Among the many promises and commitments that he has made during his ongoing transition period, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to pull U.S. support for the World Health Organization and cancel its commitments related to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. If a new report issued this week by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and incoming chairman Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, is any guide, Trump perhaps should add U.S. support for the International Energy Agency to his growing list of cancellation opportunities.
“French President Macron’s observation that IEA has become the ‘armed wing for implementing the Paris Agreement’ is regrettably true,” said the report. “With the many serious energy security challenges facing the world, however, IEA should not be a partisan cheerleader. What the world needs from IEA—and what it is not receiving now—is sober and unbiased analyses and projections that educate and inform policymakers and investors. IEA needs to remember why it was established and return to its energy security mission.”
The IEA was established in 1974 in response to the first Arab Oil Embargo which resulted in dramatically higher prices for crude oil and gasoline at the pump. Originally supported by 31 member countries including the United States, the agency’s mission was to provide accurate information related to global oil supply and demand which subscribing countries could use to help form effective energy policies. That original mission held firm for decades, during which the IEA was widely considered a leading source of real, unbiased energy information.
But politics tends to corrupt everything it touches, and the IEA has unfortunately proved to be no exception to that rule. As the politics surrounding climate alarmism rose to new highs following the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, the agency came under increasing pressure to radically alter its mission from that of a provider of real information worthy of trust to more of an activist posture.
In 2020, the report notes, this led to a shift in the IEA’s mission statement and to a new design to its modeling processes that form the basis for its annual World Energy Outlook. As its modeling base case, the agency abandoned its longstanding Current Policies Scenario, which Barrasso’s report describes as “essentially a ‘business as usual’ reference case,” in favor of a more aggressive Stated Policies Scenario.
Barrasso’s report describes this new scenario as “a hypothetical outlook based on unimplemented policies and grounded in unrealistically optimistic assumptions about the pace and scale of the transformation, especially concerning the adoption of electric vehicles by consumers.” It is an approach intentionally designed to introduce bias into the modeling process, and thus into the IEA policy recommendations for which the modeling process serves as the foundation.
This inevitable bias had an immediate and very noticeable effect. In a report published by the IEA in May 2021 Executive Director Fatih Birol laughably stated that “there will not be a need for new investments in oil and gas fields” and urged oil and gas producers to halt investments in exploration and development of new oil reserves. But that was before oil prices exploded as global demand exceeded supply during the recovery from the COVID pandemic, and by August Birol had completely reversed himself, joining President Joe Biden in a desperate call for more oil drilling to help resolve the situation.
Obviously, this sort of flip-floppery does severe damage to the agency’s already crumbling credibility as well as to the justification for governments to continue pouring millions of dollars into its operations each year. Barrasso’s report correctly notes that the IEA’s “reputation has lost its luster.”
Barrasso’s report is blunt about the kinds of reforms he would like to see at the IEA, urging Birol to abandon its advocacy posturing against investments in oil, natural gas, and coal, and to “once again produce for its World Energy Outlooka real unbiased, policy-neutral ‘business as usual’ reference case of the kind the Energy Information Administration produces.”
The Wyoming senator stops short of calling for the U.S. defunding of the IEA, but the agency’s currency is information. If that currency has lost its value, then perhaps Trump should consider a more aggressive approach.
David Blackmon is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation, an energy writer, and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
An Arizona Congressman is cheering on a recent court decision involving the sale of border wall material by the outgoing presidential administration.
U.S. Representative Eli Crane marked a judicial opinion from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in The General Land Office of the State of Texas v. Biden. The case involves a challenge to the Biden administration’s efforts to sell unused border wall materials ahead of President-Elect Donald J. Trump taking office on January 20, 2025. The ruling from Judge Drew B. Tipton granted the plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction.
Crane responded to the legal outcome, writing, “Solid victory. Thanks to President Trump, our border will be secure again. Arizonans can’t wait.”
Solid victory.
Thanks to President Trump, our border will be secure again. Arizonans can't wait. https://t.co/YJsoE547dn
President-Elect Trump, who had desired the courts to weigh in against the Biden administration’s actions, said, “BREAKING: In a major, crucial WIN for America, and our National Security, a Federal Judge in Texas, based on papers we filed just a few days ago, has PROHIBITED the Biden Administration from selling any materials designated for the Border Wall, that has been wrecked by Biden and his cronies, and which I am going to rebuild in order to protect our Country from violent migrant crime, fentanyl smuggling, sex trafficking, terror attacks, and other heinous, Nation ending disasters.”
Trump added, “The Judge has also ordered an investigation into the illegal selling of the materials, which will expose just how corrupt and anti-American Radical Democrats are. I am honored to be joined in this vital case by the Great States of Texas and Missouri, and applaud Judge Drew Tipton for doing the right thing for our Country. We have to protect our Borders, and Save America. MAGA!”
“We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials before President Trump takes office,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This follows our major victory forcing Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation’s border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda.”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, who has been eyeing a potential run for state Attorney General in 2026, noted the District Court opinion, saying, “Conservative AGs matter.”
The court ruling followed a shocking report by The Daily Wire, which revealed that “Biden is racing to auction off unused border wall materials weeks before Trump takes office.” These materials were left over from the first Trump administration, when President Biden halted construction on the wall spanning parts of the southern border in various border states as one of his earliest actions in the White House in early 2021.
Trump said at the time, “The (Biden) administration is trying to sell it for five cents on the dollar – knowing that we’re getting ready to put it up.” Trump added that “what they’re doing is really an act – it’s almost a criminal act.”
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey responded to the news, saying, “Right here in AZ, Joe Biden is attempting a last-ditch effort to keep America’s borders open by selling off materials the Trump Admin will use to finish the wall. This decision from President Biden is reckless, will make Arizonans less safe, and should be reversed – immediately.”
Right here in AZ, @JoeBiden is attempting a last ditch effort to keep America’s borders open by selling off materials the Trump Admin will use to finish the wall. This decision from President Biden is reckless, will make Arizonans less safe, and should be reversed — immediately. https://t.co/GRmVAvvEGc
A review of Arizona State University (ASU) professors’ voter registration data found that there were 15 times more Democratic professors than Republican ones.
According to an analysis of voters by The College Fix, nearly 300 professors out of over 500 total were registered as Democrats — or, 52 percent of the professors.
Comparatively, just under 20 professors were registered as Republicans, just over a dozen were registered with a third party, about 140 were unaffiliated, and just under 100 were unidentified.
The outlet identified voter registrations using Maricopa County records. Their study excluded lecturers, adjunct, and emeriti faculty.
One significant finding noted by The College Fix: a vast majority of psychology professors were Democrats: 48 to one Republican.
The English department displayed a similar disparity: 64 Democrats to six Republicans. More professors were unaffiliated in that department (about 20) or unknown (just over 10).
Sociology also had a similar disparity: 38 professors registered as Democrats compared with just two Republicans. Nine were unaffiliated, 11 were unknown.
History professors were 22 in number registered as Democrats, with just two Republicans.
Politics and global studies professors were 25 in number unaffiliated, 21 registered as Democrats, and two registered as Republicans.
In a similar prior study by The College Fix, the University of Arizona was also found to have a predominance of Democratic professors.
The predominance of Democratic registrations among professors would explain last year’s faculty controversy over a watchlist of professors accused of discrimination against conservative students.
The university had shut down the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development within the Barrett Honors College after its principal funder withdrew funding due to the “left-wing hostility and activism” of Barrett Honors College faculty.
39 of the 47 faculty members in the college had launched a campaign for action to be taken following an event featuring three conservative speakers on campus: Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of Turning Point USA; Dennis Prager, a radio talk show host and founder of PragerU; and Robert Kiyosaki, an author and presenter with PragerU.
ASU removed on-campus marketing of the event following the Barrett Honors College faculty opposition campaign.
Those faculty members also recruited students to oppose the event beforehand.
Following the controversial event featuring the three conservative speakers, ASU let go of two faculty members: Ann Atkinson, who had been the executive of the Lewis Center, and Lin Blake, who had been the operator of the venue where the event was held, the Gammage Theater.
The predominance of Democrats within ASU faculty hasn’t deterred students from registering Republican and turning out for president-elect Donald Trump this year.
About a month before the election, thousands of students and young adults turned out for a voter registration event, “Greeks for Trump,” spearheaded by Turning Point USA. Spectators observed a sea of students donning “MAGA” hats.
The surge in youth support for Republican candidates translated to the state flipping back red this election from the last, and the state legislature expanding its Republican majority.
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Here is my wish list for the incoming Trump administration to make America healthy and prosperous and great again in 2025.
1.Slash Job-Killing Regulations
The regulatory state is a $2 trillion tax on the American economy. We all want worker safety, a clean environment and consumer protections, but in too many cases the costs of regulations far outweigh the societal benefits. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to slash 10 rules for every new rule. Just do it, Mr. President.
2. Make The Trump Tax Cuts Permanent
As JFK, Ronald Reagan and others have proven throughout history, lower tax rates lead to more growth, more investment and more jobs. The Trump tax cuts meant that a typical family of four earning $75,000 a year saw their tax bill fall by half — a benefit valued at more than $2,000. And the corporate tax rate fell from 35% — the highest in the world — to 21%, bringing jobs and capital to America. Trump has promised to make all these tax cuts permanent. Why? Because they worked almost exactly as we anticipated they would.
3. Replace Welfare With Work
Growth will require more able-bodied Americans getting off welfare and into jobs. Welfare — which includes cash assistance, public housing, food stamps, disability payments, unemployment benefits and Medicaid — needs to be a hand up, not a handout.
4. Use America’s Abundant Natural Resources
America has well more than $50 trillion of natural resources that are accessible with existing drilling and mining technologies. This is a vast storehouse of wealth that far surpasses what any other nation is endowed with. We can use the royalty payments and leases to reduce our national debt while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.
5. Cut Medical Costs by Demanding Health Care Price Transparency
One of many ways to bring health care costs down to consumers (and taxpayers, who pay half the costs) is to require hospitals, pharmacies, doctors and health clinics to list prices for what they are charging. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity estimates that $1 trillion to $2 trillion could be reduced from health care costs, with no reduction in the quality of care, by allowing consumers to shop around on the internet for the best price — just as we do when we buy groceries, a home or a car. This will foster free market competition and lower prices.
6. Allow School Choice for All Families
Test scores in America have been plummeting. Kids are graduating from high school — if at all — without even being able to read the diploma. America no longer ranks in the top 10 in many academic achievement ratings.
A child can get a better education at half the cost in the Catholic school system and in many charters.
Trump has endorsed universal school choice for all children regardless of income or ethnicity or race. This is the civil rights issue of our time.
7. Implement A Pro-America Immigration Policy
Trump’s committed to securing our border, but we also need legal immigrants through a merit-based immigration system. This visa system would select immigrants based on their skills, talents, investment capital, English language ability and education level. These characteristics all presage success in America.
8. Revive America’s Great Cities
Our once-great cities in America — from New York to Chicago to Detroit to San Francisco to Seattle — have come to look like war zones. Crime has run rampant. Businesses and people and capital are fleeing and leaving the poorest Americans — mostly minorities — stranded with tragically limited opportunities other than working at Walmart or McDonald’s for minimum wage. Since 2020, our major cities have lost nearly 1 million residents. And tens of thousands of businesses.
Trump wants to revitalize our cities and abandoned rural areas through deregulation, reduction in tax rates, changes in zoning policies and infrastructure investments.
9. Pull the U.S. Out Of The Paris Climate Change Treaty And Other Anti-America Agreements
We must end American participation in globalist treaties that hurt America most. This includes the Paris Climate Accords — a treaty with which most other nations have failed to comply, yet which places huge burdens on American companies and workers. Trump also has pledged to end global taxation — such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s global minimum tax. Do we even need a United Nations?
10. Finally, Drain The Swamp
There is a reason why three of the five wealthiest counties in America are in or around Washington, D.C. Washington is getting rich at the expense of the rest of us. Fewer than 10% of overpaid federal workers (of which there are more than 2 million) are working full time in the office even though COVID-19 ended three years ago. These are swamp employees that often get paid $150,000 or more a year. Fire them if they don’t show up. And relocate federal agencies in other cities.
These are admittedly bold aspirations for an economic transformation toward freedom and free enterprise. But the one person who can get it done is Trump.
Stephen Moore is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. His new book, coauthored with Arthur Laffer, is “The Trump Economic Miracle.”
An individual with Arizona ties was just selected as one of America’s next international representatives.
Earlier this month, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced that he had nominated Leah Campos to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic.
NEW: President Donald J. Trump announces the nomination of Leah Francis Campos (@Leah4Az) as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic pic.twitter.com/gBB8z1BUSR
In a statement released to Trump’s Truth Social, he said, “I am pleased to announce that I will nominate Leah Francis Campos as United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Leah served our Country as a CIA Case Officer before becoming Senior Advisor for the Western Hemisphere on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Leah is a mother to four beautiful children, and comes from a family of Patriots. Her sister, the outstanding Rachel Campos-Duffy, of FoxNews, and brother-in-law Sean Duffy, who will be Secretary of Transportation, are also wonderful Patriots.”
President-elect Trump added, “Leah will take her love of Country, and commitment to our National Security and Prosperity, to her post as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Congratulations Leah!”
The selection of Campos was immediately greeted with praise from those who knew her. U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani said, “Congratulations to my friend Leah Campos! Very proud of all that you’ve done and excited for what you will continue to do.”
Congratulations to my friend Leah Campos! Very proud of all that you’ve done and excited for what you will continue to do. 🇺🇸 @Leah4Azhttps://t.co/C7uOMcfMzo
Heather Nauert, the former spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department under the first Trump Administration, weighed in on the nomination, saying, “Trump made phenomenal choice picking Leah Campos to be his ambassador to Dominican Republic. We first met when she was senior advisor for W Hemis at House Foreign Affairs Cmte. She has deep knowledge of the region & has done it all – counter narcotics etc. America will be safer!”
Trump made phenomenal choice picking Leah F Campos @Leah4Az to be his ambassador to Dominican Republic. We first met when she was senior advisor for W Hemis at House Foreign Affairs Cmte. She has deep knowledge of the region & has done it all – counter narcotics etc. America will…
The Executive Director for the Center for a Secure Free Society, Joseph M. Humire, wrote, “Leah Campos has been quietly helping that US-Latin America relations stay strong for more than a decade. She will be one of our strongest ambassadors in the region. The Trump admin and the Dominican Republic are lucky to have her.”
Leah Campos has been quietly helping ensure that US-Latin America relations stay strong for more than a decade. She will be one of our strongest ambassadors in the region. The Trump admin and the Dominican Republic are lucky to have her.
