Energy secretary to visit Port of Brownsville after vice president cancels trip

Less than 24 hours after Vice President J.D. Vance canceled his planned South Texas visit, the Trump administration announced another high-ranking official will travel to the Port of Brownsville this week.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is scheduled to visit the port on Tuesday, where he will meet with local leaders and industry partners to discuss how what the administration describes as “American energy dominance” is driving economic growth, according to a Department of Energy media advisory.

The announcement follows the cancellation of Vance’s planned appearance at the port, which Republican congressional candidate Eric Flores attributed to a change in the vice president’s official schedule. 

Wright’s visit signals that the administration is continuing to spotlight the Port of Brownsville as one of the nation’s fastest-growing industrial and energy hubs.

The port has been at the center of several major economic development announcements in recent months, including Saronic Technologies’ planned $3.2 billion autonomous shipyard, the proposed America First Refining project, and Cameron County’s recent receipt of a presidential permit clearing the way to acquire a 50% ownership stake in the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge.

As previously reported by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal, Vance’s visit had been expected to highlight many of those same projects, underscoring the region’s growing role in U.S. manufacturing, energy production and international trade.

The Department of Energy did not release additional details about Wright’s itinerary.