The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Energy Department. 

The vote was 59-38. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) as well as independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to confirm him.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle indicated support for his nomination during his confirmation hearing, and he sailed out of committee on a 15-5 vote. 

“He’s a scientist who has invested his life around energy. He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard, but he studied nuclear,” Hickenlooper said during Wright’s confirmation hearing. “His first years of working were in solar. He has experience in wind.”

Nevertheless, Wright has also stoked some controversy over past comments downplaying climate change’s connections to extreme weather. 

However, during the hearing, he acknowledged that climate change is happening, saying it is “a global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue.”

Now that he’s confirmed, Wright will run a department that oversees energy research and loans, as well as the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. 

He gave significant financial contributions to Trump’s campaign, giving two donations of $175,000 and $53,990 to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee, which allocates funds to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and other political committees.

Wright’s supporters cheered his confirmation.

“I am confident that we can reverse the irresponsible policies of the Biden administration and prioritize affordable and reliable energy. Under his leadership, the DOE will once again support the American worker, the American family, and the American future,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, in a statement.

But, critics expressed concern about putting a fossil fuel executive in charge of the department. 

“Senate Republicans just handed Trump’s Big Oil allies the keys to the Department of Energy. Chris Wright built his career expanding fossil fuels and denying climate science—even dismissing wildfires as ‘just hype’ while entire communities in Los Angeles were reduced to ash. Now, he’ll be in a position to help Trump attempt his illegal funding blockade, stalling clean energy investments, jacking up energy prices, and keeping Americans addicted to expensive, volatile fossil fuels,” said a statement from Lena Moffitt, executive director of climate advocacy group Evergreen Action. 

“No Democrat should have voted to confirm a wealthy fossil fuel executive who claims ‘there’s no clean energy’ and whose only qualifications appear to be writing big checks to Trump’s campaign,” she added. 

Updated at 7:07 pm EST.