A fracking company CEO, Fox News host, and pro-pipeline governor walk into a bar…

It sounds like the setup for a bad joke, but this concerning subset of Trump’s Cabinet picks is fairly representative of the whole so far.

As the President’s primary advisors and leaders of major national departments, the members of the Cabinet hold some of the greatest executive authority in the country. They will undoubtedly play a major role in determining how climate change is addressed at the federal level—which is a problem when very few of them accept climate change as scientific fact.

Here’s a glimpse at what we’re working with:

• Lee Zeldin, nominee for EPA Administrator: Despite his support for addressing climate change in public statements, during his time in Congress, he voted against environmental bills 86% of the time.
  
• Chris Wright, nominee for Secretary of Energy: Not only is Wright the CEO of a fracking company, but he has denied the reality of the climate crisis—and the very real energy transition that is underway in the U.S.—as recently as last year.
  
• Doug Burgum, nominee for Secretary of the Interior, believes that climate change is real but has never named fossil fuels as the culprit. His plan to make North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030 instead relies on carbon capture and storage.
  
• Marco Rubio, nominee for Secretary of State: His most recent stance on climate change: it’s happening, but we don’t know for sure that humans are the cause. He sees adaptation as the solution.

There’s no sugarcoating how bad these nominations are. These individuals are unfit to serve in some of the highest positions in this country, and the fact that many of them cannot see the climate crisis as an existential threat will be consequential for the health, safety, and well-being of people everywhere.

But accepting Trump’s damaging actions as foregone conclusions must not be the new status quo. If Matt Gaetz’s sudden decision to withdraw from consideration for attorney general tells us anything, it’s that public pressure works. And not every GOP Senator is going to necessarily roll over.
So we’re going to urge our senators to block these appointments. We’re going to tell them to ask hard-hitting questions about climate change during the confirmation process. And we’re going to make our stance loud and clear: we care about the climate, we care about the future of this country, and we’re not going anywhere!