The next Manhattan Project is clearly A.I., Energy Sec. Chris Wright says during budget hearing

Photo of the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held the Department of Energy’s FY2026 budget hearing Wednesday in the Dirksen Senate Office where Secretary of Energy Chris Wright testified before the committee. 

Chairman of the committee Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said that “the department’s budget in recent years has ballooned,” due to The Inflation Reduction Act. Lee said the bill provided tens of billions of dollars to fund green energy projects resulting in less reliable energy, while also making energy more expensive for Americans.

Meanwhile, ranking member of the committee Secretary Martin Heinrich (D-NM) made reference, in his opening remarks, towards Wright’s past hearings. Heinrich brought up the $3.7 billion in awards from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations that were canceled “without notice or justification” in late May.

“It's clear from those hearings that there seems to be a noticeable disconnect between what you've stated publicly and the actions taken under your leadership as Secretary of the Department of Energy,” Heinrich said.

On top of the awards cancellation, Heinrich quoted Wright saying he was talking about the D.O.E. employees as “unbelievable humans” and praised their work. Less than a month later, Heinrich said, the D.O.E. fired 2,000 National Nuclear Security Administration employees — which then tried to reverse their decision and rehire some workers in early February. 

“Except for during Covid, I never laid anyone off in my entire career,” Wright said further within the hearing.

During Wright’s opening remarks, the Secretary praised the end of the Biden administration’s pause on liquified natural gas export (LNG) permits — resuming the regular review and approval process of these permits. In a June 10 hearing about the fiscal year budget, Wright said that LNG’s are the fastest growing U.S. export. 

“It's a huge economic opportunity for the United States,” Wright said. “And I'm excited to see the huge capital, the private capital, flowing in to grow that capacity.”

Among other topics, Heinrich made mention of his efforts to try and get in contact with the Department, including sending four letters on topics ranging from staff reductions to funding freezes and project cancellations. Heinrich said he received no responses in return.

“Senator, the most efficient communication, of course, is to reach out,” Wright said. “We can jump on the phone at any time. I know we've done that a few times. I'm happy to do that much more. My schedule is very tough, and I should respond and will respond to your letters. I'm sorry.”

Senators also touched on concerns within their own states along with national and worldwide topics. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) dove into a very straightforward question for the secretary.

“Are there any Iranian scientists in any of our labs as of right now?” Cotton asked.

Cotton’s question arose due to the current conflict between Israel and Iran. Wright responded to Cotton and said he was “not aware” of any Iranian scientists in American laboratories. Though Wright said there were no Iranian scientists, he did say that the Energy Department has approved of three Chinese foreign nationals to work on non-sensitive “stuff” because they have a “very unique expertise”.

Sen. Lee asked Wright to discuss the Department’s authority to authorize nuclear projects. Wright responded saying the D.O.E. is going to try and use all their resources in order to test reactors in around 12 months from now — but this process, Wright said, is costly.

“China builds a nuclear plant for a third of the cost we do,” Wright said. “We want to protect our people. We want safety. We want to do all the right things.”

The growth of artificial intelligence is something that the Department of Energy has been working within their budget. 

“Our nuclear innovation, as a nation, began with the Manhattan Project, and the next Manhattan Project is clearly A.I.,” Wright said. “D.O.E. has a significant role to play in driving A.I. innovation for scientific discovery and national security.”

On a different topic of concern, the budget proposes a 74% reduction in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Solar energy saw record-breaking numbers in 2024, now the D.O.E. wants to cut down on its funding for 2026.

“Solar is growing fast,” Wright said. “I've worked in solar. I'm in favor of solar. And so we've way over invested resources in hoping wind and solar will, you know, magically transform into something they're not.”

Wright says solar will continue to grow. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) questioned Wright’s connection between his priorities and his actual budget requests. Padilla asked Wright how he expects the U.S. to “lead the world” when his budget proposal seeks to cut research and development capabilities. 

“It does hurt me to cut spending in science,” Wright said. “I share that passion with you.”

As Padilla’s time was coming to a close, Wright did not respond in full to his question before Padilla jumped into his next one.

The timing to receive a decision on the future of the D.O.E.’s FY2026 budget is not yet clear.