Oilman Hamm picked by President for his economic reopening committee

 

Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm is among 200 executives and industry leaders named by President Donald Trump to his “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups” to reopen the nation’s economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hamm, founder and chairman of Continental Oil was included on a list of energy leaders including Darren Woods at ExxonMobil, Viciki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum, Tom Fanning of Southern Company, Mike Wirth at Chevron, Mark Crosswhite of Alabama Power, Ryan Lance of ConocoPhillip, Steven Kean of Kinder Morgan, John Hess at Hess Corporation, Rich Nolan of the National Mining Association, Joseph Gorder at Valero and Ross Perot Jr. of the Perot Group and Hillwood.

Hamm recently attended a White House meeting along with other oil and gas industry leaders who discussed ways to help the struggling industry. He also has been a political advisor to President Trump regarding energy issues.

The President announced his list on Tuesday and read off dozens and dozens of names of executives and companies in technology, agriculture, banking, financial services, defense, energy, transportation sports and health care.

““Now, we have a list of people that I’ll be speaking to over the next very short period of time, in many cases, tomorrow,” Trump said. “We have a list of different industries that I’ll be discussing by, meeting by telephone, because we don’t want people traveling right now.”

In an announcement from the White House Rose Garden, the President said the people on the list would advise the administration in the coming weeks about how to reopen the economy from the coronavirus-induced shutdown.

“These bipartisan groups of American leaders will work together with the White House to chart the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity,” the White House said in a statement. “The health and wealth of America is the primary goal, and these groups will produce a more independent, self-sufficient, and resilient Nation.”

At no point did President Trump or the White House explain the way the committees would work, or the types of suggestions they sought or the benchmarks the White House would use to determine whether it was safe to reopen shuttered businesses, send children back to school, reopen stadiums or resume work in offices.

The President also did not explain who will lead the effort of the various industry groups.