WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate energy

committee on Thursday approved President Donald Trump's picks to

lead the U.S. Departments of Energy and Interior, officials who,

if approved by the full Senate, will seek to maximize fossil

fuel output and dismantle parts of former President Joe Biden's

climate policy.

The panel voted 18-2 to approve former North Dakota

governor Doug Burgum to lead the U.S. Department of Interior and

a new national council on energy, expected to boost production

of oil and gas.

The committee also voted 15-5 to approve Chris Wright, the

Energy Department pick and the CEO of oilfield services company

Liberty Energy.

The full Senate, which is controlled by Trump's Republican

party, will next consider the nominations. Wright will step down

from Liberty if approved by the Senate.

Burgum has said he will vigorously pursue maximizing energy

production from U.S. public lands and waters, calling it key to

national security. Burgum's comments to lawmakers during his

nomination hearing signaled a sharp turn in policy, after Biden

attempted for years to limit oil and gas drilling to fight

climate change by reducing federal lease auctions and banning

future development in some offshore waters.

Wright believes fossil fuels are the key to ending world

poverty, which is a greater problem than climate change's

"distant" threat, according to a report he wrote while at

Liberty.

In his nomination hearing, Wright said the wildfires that

devastated Los Angeles are "heartbreaking" but stood by his

previous comments on social media about wildfires. In 2023

Wright said on social media that "hype over wildfires is just

hype to justify" policies to curb climate change.

Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who voted

against Wright, said his comments regarding wildfires and his

refusal to retract his statement have "made it impossible for me

to support his nomination."