My family’s morning routine is usually pretty normal. We wake up early, have coffee, and get our 1-year-old ready for nursery. But one Wednesday morning last month, I found myself saying something to my wife that was frankly unreal for both of us. “Just to let you know, I’m going to call Trump.”
Then, hoping to avoid an emergency diaper event, I snuck into the next room and called the president.
I have been trying to contact President Donald Trump for several days. My heart pounded every time. After nearly 20 years as a journalist, I’m somewhat used to talking to people in power. But when I coldly called the President of the United States on my personal cell phone, I felt like a child reporter again.
“Hello?” said a voice on the other end of the phone. This time, the president came to pick me up.
I introduced myself and told Trump I was a reporter for ProPublica.
“I’m writing a story about your big supporter in the oil industry, Jeff Hildebrand,” I said. “May I ask what you think about him?”
By this point, I had been reporting on Mr. Hildebrand for several months. Mr. Hildebrand is a little-known billionaire who is a big donor to President Trump and owns an empire of low-yielding oil and gas wells across the country. Although these “stripper wells” contribute little to the U.S. energy supply, they emit large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas.
By calling the President, I was hoping for some clarification on the President’s relationship with Hildebrand. After all, he had appointed Hildebrand’s wife as ambassador to Costa Rica. My reporting so far has also revealed that the administration is gathering advice from oil industry groups backed by Hildebrand and plans to weaken environmental regulations on stripper wells, potentially making Hildebrand even richer.
President Trump responded, “I hear he’s doing a good job.” “I don’t know much about him, okay?”
At first, I thought this exchange might hurt my story and make it seem like Mr. Hildebrand wasn’t as central to the president’s energy policy as I thought. But I realized that Trump’s comments say something important about how this administration works. President Trump seemed to know little about Hildebrandt’s operations, but when I mentioned that he was threatened by “Biden’s methane regulations,” he quickly responded, “Yes, we are doing the opposite of what Biden did.”
In other words, Mr. Trump may be only vaguely aware of the people and organizations that are helping him rewrite all sorts of consequential policies. But what matters in Washington right now is not technical policy details but support for the president and affinity for a broader ideological project to deregulate everything.
Even if the president only has a cursory knowledge of Hildebrand, the oil tycoon is someone you should know. As a climate reporter, I’m always looking for ways to make the seemingly abstract issue of global warming feel more concrete, relatable, and even personal. In Hildebrand’s case, I felt like I had found a fascinating figure who was also a poster boy for a very important issue. Although stripper wells together account for only 6% of the country’s oil and gas, scientists have found that stripper wells are responsible for roughly half of the sector’s methane pollution. That means they play a major role in climate change, which amplifies heat waves, droughts and wildfires.
My previous reporting revealed that a former lobbyist for Hildebrand’s company (who now holds a top post at the Environmental Protection Agency) is rewriting methane regulations with advice from the oil industry. (An EPA spokesperson said the agency “fulfilled all ethical obligations with respect to the letter.”)
The EPA’s press office declined to comment on the details of the plan, but confirmed that it is working on a proposal to “provide relief” to the oil industry, saying in a statement that “we have consistently heard from U.S. oil and gas producers (who met with stakeholders that were shocking) that the Biden-Harris administration’s oil and gas methane regulations are unworkable and unnecessarily restrict U.S. energy dominance.”
In the article we ultimately published, I dug deep into how Hildebrand amassed a fortune racking up dozens of environmental violations across the country, and is now benefiting from a payback by a former lobbyist.
Mr. Hildebrandt did not respond to repeated requests for interviews and letters sent to his home. A spokesperson for his company, Hilcorp, said the company’s operations followed state and federal regulations, adding that Hilcorp is “proud” of its recent efforts to reduce methane emissions.
As with many climate change stories, it may all sound pretty bleak. But in a world where combating global warming seems incredibly difficult, limiting methane pollution from stripper wells is a rare low-hanging fruit, said Andrew Logan of the climate change advocacy group Ceres. “If you can lose 6% of your production and cut your emissions in half, who wouldn’t do that deal?” Logan said.
Instead, the Trump administration is doubling down on the form of energy that contributes most to global warming. The president invited Hildebrand and 20 other energy executives to the White House in January to discuss investing in Venezuela’s aging oil industry, according to the International Energy Agency. According to the International Energy Agency, Venezuela emits more methane than any other major oil-producing country relative to its production.
Many executives expressed their enthusiasm, albeit with some caveats. ExxonMobil’s CEO said Venezuela is “uninvestable” unless the country changes its legal system. ConocoPhillips’ top executives wanted a loan from the U.S. government.
But Hildebrand already knew how loyalty was rewarded. “Hilcorp is fully committed and ready to work on rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure,” he said, leaning into a microphone despite the lack of significant activity outside the United States.
“That’s a good thing,” Trump said. “You will be very happy.”
