President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Energy Department Chris Wright walked a fine line Wednesday as he called climate change "a real and global phenomenon" but remained skeptical during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing.

Why it matters: Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, looked to temper his tone but stood by prior statements criticizing "climate zealots" and calling climate change not a pressing concern.

Driving the news: In his opening statement, Wright outlined three goals in front of the Energy and Natural Resource Committee if confirmed as energy secretary.

• He emphasized the importance of domestic energy production and the need to "lead the world in innovation and technology." And he called the resiliency of the nation's electrical grid "the most urgent energy issue today."
• In addition, he acknowledged that the combustion of hydrocarbons is contributing to climate change.

The intrigue: Colorado's U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat on the committee, introduced Wright, a Denver native and longtime acquaintance.

• Hickenlooper called him a "scientist who is open to discussion," praising Wright's care for energy poverty issues and backing of a variety of energy technologies.
• Spokespeople for Hickenlooper and fellow Democrat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, said they have not decided how he will vote on Wright's confirmation.

The big picture: Democrats, who consider it an existential threat, sharply criticized Wright on climate change while Republicans touted his support for nuclear energy and the oil and gas industry.

Zoom in: The tensest moment came when U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) pressed Wright on his prior comments about wildfires and climate change in the shadow of the deadly fires in southern California.

• Padilla quoted a prior Wright social media post saying: "the hype over wildfires is just hype to justify more improvement from bad government policies."

Wright said he stood by his comments but expressed sorrow about the devastation left by the Los Angeles area fires.

• "Tell that to the families of the more than dozen lost in these fires and counting," Padilla said in return.

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Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove a reference to Sen. Hickenlooper announcing his support for the nominee, Wright. (He made no such announcement.)

The attempted assassination of President-elect Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13 was "preventable and should not have happened," a bipartisan task force concluded in a report released Tuesday.

The big picture: In a 180-page report, the House panel blamed institutional breakdowns in the Secret Service as well as failures in security planning and execution, most notably missteps in securing the building complex where the shooter fired eight shots.

• The shooting by a lone gunman killed one person and wounded the then-Republican presidential nominee and two others.

What they found: "The various failures in planning, execution, and leadership on and before July 13, 2024, and the preexisting conditions that undermined the effectiveness of the human and material assets deployed that day, coalesced to create an environment in which the former President — and everyone at the campaign event — were exposed to grave danger," the report states.

• "The Secret Service did not provide clear guidance to its state and local partners about which entity was responsible for the area," the House panel wrote.
• "An expressed lack of manpower and assets was not sufficiently addressed, resulting in coverage gaps on the ground," the report continued.

Yes, but: The response to the second assassination attempt against Trump about two months later in West Palm Beach, Florida, "demonstrated how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination," the panel found.

Zoom in: The report includes recommendations that the Secret Service strengthen its capabilities by evaluating its budget, staffing and personnel retention challenges.

• The agency may benefit, the panel wrote, from reducing the number of people under its protection.
• The task force also recommended that Congress consider moving some of the Secret Service's "investigative functions" to a different agency within or outside of the Department of Homeland Security.

What they're saying: Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told Axios in a statement that the agency "appreciates the diligence" of the task force and that the findings match its internal investigation.

• "Today's report reinforces our resolve to bring change to the Secret Service," he added. "We continue to take action to acquire new technologies, strengthen training, develop our personnel, and seek resources to fortify the Secret Service."

Zoom out: U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, the top-ranking Democrat on the task force, told Axios that the American people should feel confident about the security of elected officials regardless of partisan affiliation.

• "Our next step will be, not just being sure that they take responsibility, but assuring accountability and that changes are made so it doesn't happen again," he said.
• Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Context: The Secret Service faced intense scrutiny following the assassination attempt and agency director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in the aftermath.

• In the weeks after the initial assassination attempt, Congress members voted unanimously in favor of creating a task force to investigate the shooting.
• The panel comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats was tasked with investigating all actions by agencies and officials at local, state and federal levels related to the shooting.

Go deeper: U.S. Rep. Jason Crow reacts to the Trump assassination report