Senate Energy Committee questions nominee David Eisner on international energy priorities and ties to prior Treasury service

David Eisner, President Trump’s nominee to be assistant secretary of energy for international affairs, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 15 that he embraces the administration’s “energy dominance agenda” and plans to advocate for U.S. energy and critical minerals abroad if confirmed.

The committee convened to consider four nominees for energy-related offices. Eisner — who previously served as counselor to the secretary of the Treasury and as assistant secretary for management at the Treasury during the first Trump administration — described his time at Treasury as formative and said the experience taught him “the work that we were doing was not red and it wasn’t blue, it was red white and blue.” He told senators he would use diplomacy and data to advance U.S. energy interests.

Why it matters: the Office of International Affairs coordinates DOE programs with foreign governments and serves as the department’s lead for CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States). Changes in the office’s priorities affect trade, critical-minerals supply chains, and international energy deals.

Eisner told the committee he has worked with heads of state, ministers and business leaders through his private-sector and prior public-service roles and called American energy “a strategic tool in American diplomacy.” He said his career includes private-sector executive roles and service at Treasury, where he helped design programs implemented during the COVID-era rescue effort.

During questioning, Senator Lee asked how Eisner would reorient the office away from the prior administration’s climate-focused work toward the administration’s stated priority of energy dominance. Eisner pointed to his diplomatic experience and said he would be an “effective advocate of the U.S. position in the president’s energy agenda in all of the bilateral and multilateral fora” he would attend if confirmed.

Senator Daines asked whether Eisner would advocate for Montana energy producers facing what the senator described as discriminatory measures abroad, and Eisner said he would “advocate for American product, and I will always advocate against unfair trade practices if should they exist.”

Committee context: Ranking Member Senator Heinrich pressed nominees across the hearing about whether the department will continue cooperating with allies and maintaining international energy partnerships; Heinrich told Eisner he was concerned by “a 40% reduction in the department’s budget request for international affairs” raised in the administration request.

The hearing did not produce a confirmation vote. Eisner and the other nominees were sworn for their testimony and answered standard pre-hearing questions about appearances before Congress and conflicts of interest.

Looking ahead: if confirmed, Eisner would represent DOE in international meetings and at organizations that shape energy trade and critical-minerals policy. He will face further committee review and a possible floor vote.