Biden-Harris Official Behind Green Airplane Push Quietly Reveals He Owns an Oil Well

Investment suggests Biden-Harris official may not fully buy into the climate agenda he is spearheading

Federal Aviation Administration administrator Michael Whitaker is spearheading the Biden-Harris administration’s quest to transition the aviation industry away from oil reliance. He also owns an oil well in Wyoming, which he leases to Hilcorp Energy, the largest privately held oil company in the United States, according to a financial disclosure made public this month.

According to Whitaker’s financial disclosure filed with the federal Office of Government Ethics and made public this month, the FAA administrator’s oil well is located in Uinta County, Wyoming, and is worth up to $100,000. Whitaker reported annual income of up to $5,000 in royalties from Hilcorp for the well, the disclosure showed.

While the well itself is a relatively small investment for Whitaker—his total assets are worth millions of dollars—and is one of thousands that Hilcorp operates in Wyoming, according to state data, it suggests the top Biden-Harris administration official may not fully buy into the climate agenda he is spearheading at the FAA. Since taking office in 2021, the administration, including the FAA, has pursued policies to transition the nation from fossil fuels to green energy.

“We are taking a large step forward to ensure the manufacture of more fuel-efficient airplanes, reduce carbon pollution, and reach our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” Whitaker said in February after finalizing regulations forcing large commercial airplanes flying in American airspace to abide by a slate of stricter fuel efficiency standards.

When Whitaker announced those regulations, his agency lamented that the classifications of civil aircraft impacted are responsible for 9 percent of domestic transportation emissions and 2 percent of the nation’s emissions.

And those regulations are part of the FAA’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, which established a goal for the nation’s aviation sector to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While the plan was formally developed before Whitaker was confirmed to the position in October 2023, he has himself endorsed the plan.

The Aviation Climate Action Plan calls for the development of more efficient aircraft engines, the electrification of certain flights, the production of sustainable aviation fuels, and funding for climate research, among other policy priorities. After unveiling a round of research funding in March, Whitaker said it would help ensure safe and efficient aviation operations in the nation “while working toward net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Although some companies are developing electric or hydrogen-powered aircraft, the technology has yet to be leveraged for a single commercial flight. Additionally, according to the International Energy Agency, the aviation industry is not on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

“This is exactly the kind of thing that gets everyday people furious because the people who are constantly turning the ratchet up to make their gas more expensive, their car more expensive, their airline ticket to see family more expensive, to limit what they can buy at the grocery store because it doesn’t align with certain green targets—are globe hopping in private jets, owning oil wells, and living life with abandon,” O.H. Skinner, the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, said in an interview.

“It’s all part of the same symptomatic thing, and it’s why everyday people get so fired up about the little indignities that are shoved on them—from gas stoves to the grocery store to their car to the pump—because they see it as almost intentional infliction of pain by people who are aloof to any of it,” Skinner added.

Meanwhile, Hilcorp, the company leasing Whitaker’s well, has been criticized by environmental activist groups over its emissions profile. In June, the Clean Air Task Force and Ceres—two eco nonprofits that have collaborated with the Biden-Harris administration on key climate policies—released a study conducted by the firm ERM showing Hilcorp produced the most methane emissions and third-most greenhouse gas emissions of any company in the United States.

Hilcorp is regularly listed as a top emitter by the environmental report, which is released on an annual basis. The company said in 2022 that it is on track to continue curbing its emissions after that year’s report was released, CNBC reported.

“The nearly 32-fold difference in methane emissions between the highest and lowest quartiles of natural gas producers exemplifies the gap between companies using best practices and those that aren’t,” said Clean Air Task Force research and analysis manager Lesley Feldman.

The Clean Air Task Force regularly issues briefs and comments supporting the Biden-Harris administration’s environmental agenda, and its technology and markets director John Thompson serves on a White House Council on Environmental Quality task force. And Ceres regularly advises the White House and Democrats in Congress on climate policies—the group’s CEO Mindy Lubber has visited the Biden-Harris White House seven times for meetings, visitor logs show.

In a statement to the Washington Free Beacon, the FAA said Whitaker “abides by all federal ethics rules and disclosures,” but didn’t comment on his ownership of the Wyoming oil well.

Hilcorp didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Free Beacon.