Secretary of Energy Chris Wright was caught off guard Wednesday when he learned about President Trump’s statements earlier in the day about inflation and a “secret mission” on oil amid the war in Iran. Democratic Representative Emilia Sykes grilled Wright during his testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, asking him if he loves inflation. Dumbfounded, Wright said that he loved Iran not being able to get a nuclear weapon, only for Sykes to press the question until Wright finally answered that he prefers lower inflation. Sykes then pointed out that Trump stated earlier in the day that he loves inflation. Wright tried to put his best spin on Trump’s answer. “He’s an entertaining, hyperbolic guy who’s done tremendous leadership, and on balance, he’s driving inflation down—” Wright said before Sykes cut him off, suggesting that Wright doesn’t love inflation, but Trump does. Then, Sykes asked Wright if he was aware that the U.S. was taking millions of barrels of gasoline from Iran. here's the full clip of Rep. Emilia Sykes's brilliant line of questioning that made Chris Wright squirm by confronting him with the completely unhinged comments Trump just made in the Oval Office about inflation and the war in Iran pic.twitter.com/iDlG7Mk84P— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 10, 2026Wright didn’t seem to understand, only for Sykes to press him again and then play audio of Trump claiming to be taking out “millions of barrels of oil.” Sykes then asked if Wright was aware of the U.S. seizing Iranian oil. Wright finally replied that he was not, and Sykes then asked him if he thought the president was lying. “Oh, no I do not think the president’s lying. I think the president’s talking casually about our efforts to stop the flow of Iranian oil—” Wright started, before Sykes cut in, asking if it was appropriate to speak casually about war in which 13 U.S. military servicemembers were killed. After Wright defended Trump’s manner of speaking and said the country was better for it, Sykes laid the problem bare. “[Trump] is clearly keeping you in the dark about what he is doing in Iran, and now you are sitting here in this committee unaware that the president just made an announcement about millions of barrels that they have taken from Iran and stated in that very, very clearly, people don’t know but now we get to know, but unfortunately, he sent you here and you didn’t know it. What is your response to that?” Sykes asked. Wright paused, and said “I’m very proud to serve with president Trump. He’s been tremendous leadership in a time of great stress right now. I’m proud of what he’s doing, proud to be part of the team.” Trump later claimed on Truth Social that the “secret mission” in Iran meant that more than 100 million barrels of oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, not coming from Iran directly. Still, it’s clear the energy secretary has no idea what’s going on.Trump seems to be either experiencing cognitive decline, or keeping his Cabinet in the dark. In either case, it’s hard for the public to know exactly what’s going on when Trump’s advisers have to adapt their public comments on the fly to go with whatever incoherent thing the president has just said.