“Never saw Zeldin going to EPA,” said an industry consultant who was granted anonymity to discuss Trump’s transition efforts. “It exposes the folly to try and guess Trump nominees.”

One oil industry lawyer who has talked with people directly involved in the transition efforts and was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations said Zeldin’s appointment caught a lot of people off guard.

“So people are less confident in the communication chains” out of Trump’s transition team, the person said.

The news that Trump chose Gaetz, the former Florida representative whom the DOJ and Congress had investigated over allegations of drug use and sex trafficking, left industry officials “a little shell shocked,” this person added. POLITICO reported that Trump had apparently made the decision in a spur-of-the-moment decision while on his private plane.

For energy industry watchers, the biggest question remains whether North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will join Trump’s new administration. The Republican, who became nationally known during his presidential primary run, has been floated as an “energy czar” or as secretary of the Interior, Energy or Commerce departments. Burgum visited Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, three industry sources familiar with the trip told POLITICO.

All those roles are expected to be key to Trump’s campaign promises to ramp up oil and gas production and cut U.S. energy costs in half.

But Burgum is questioning whether a czar role would have enough formal power, sources familiar with the discussions said.

North Dakota GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer and others who have spoken recently with Burgum say the governor, a self-made software billionaire, could decide to walk away and not take a position in the administration if he doesn’t find the right fit.

“That is entirely possible because one thing Doug Burgum doesn’t need is a job,” Cramer said, adding that he sensed Burgum is a “little” skeptical of a potential czar role and is focusing more on traditional Cabinet positions.

Trump has praised Burgum in the past, calling the governor “great” and “a high-quality person” after a Republican primary debate last year. A Trump transition team member said they would “not comment on private meetings” with Burgum.

A spokesperson for Burgum did not provide comment, and Burgum remained coy when asked at Mar-a-Lago Thursday evening whether he had discussed the top job at the Interior Department.

“There have been a lot of discussions about a lot of different things and I think like I said, nothing’s true until you read it on Truth Social,” he said in a video posted on X by NBC News reporter Jillian Frankel.

A multitude of other candidates have been floated as potential heads of Trump’s Energy and Interior departments.

“We are going to see people at Energy and Interior who are readily confirmable,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who has had discussions with the Trump transition team about leading Interior but is planning to remain in the Senate. “With one exception, everybody he [Trump] has put forward so far is readily confirmable,” she added, referring to Gaetz.

For DOE, the agency in charge of maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons, overseeing the 17 national research laboratories and approving natural gas exports, several potential candidates’ names have circulated among Trump’s transition staff, according to industry sources and media reports.

They include former Energy Deputy Secretary Mark Menezes, Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt and Wright, the CEO of fracking service company Liberty Energy.

Ray Washburne, a Republican fundraiser whom Trump appointed to the Overseas Private Investment Corp. in 2017, also met with transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick about the top Energy Department spot, one person told POLITICO.

While Menezes and Hunt are well-known personalities in D.C., Wright is a relative unknown who is being pushed by Harold Hamm, another major Trump fundraiser and the executive chair of oil company Continental Resources, according to people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversation.

Wright, who campaign finance statements show raised money for Trump and the Republican National Committee, has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, which he does not believe represents a threat despite the scientific evidence. He has also said that the growth in solar, wind and other renewable energy sources does not represent a major change in energy production.

“There is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” Wright said in a video uploaded to LinkedIn.

“We have seen no increase in the frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or floods despite endless fear mongering of the media, politicians and activists,” he said in the video. “The only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change.”

Other candidates’ names that have circulated as potential heads of the Interior Department include former Deputy Secretary Katharine MacGregor, Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

But Mullin told POLITICO on Thursday he has not discussed with Trump or the transition team the possibility of him taking a position in the new administration.

Some people on the Trump transition team had also raised questions about the need to create a new position for energy czar, people familiar with the conversations said. But given the likely push from Republicans and energy industry players to streamline the federal government’s permitting process — and the potential need to have a go-between to coordinate Trump’s energy policy with his potentially hawkish trade officials — the administration might want someone to coordinate among the EPA, DOE, Interior and Commerce departments to push policies to promote domestic energy production.

The Biden administration has used former Secretary of State John Kerry and John Podesta in similar roles devoted to fighting climate change.

“You’ve got so many cross-cutting things going on with energy,” said Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who has been in communication with the transition team about various roles in a second Trump administration, including Transportation secretary.

“I actually think it’s advisable to have someone who is lead and can help coordinate these actions across government from within the White House, and certainly the governor [Burgum] is a good candidate for that position.”