_{Image by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Kent Lassman

Credentials

• M.P.A., Public Administration, North Carolina State University (2004–2006).¹“Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• B.A., Philosophy and World Politics, The Catholic University of America (1992–1996).²“Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Background

Kent Lassman has been the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) president and CEO since 2016.³“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z

Lassman joined CEI from the lobbying firm DCI Group, where he was vice president.⁴“Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4 A 2016 Inside Sources interview with Lassman stated that during his eight-year tenure at DCI, “Lassman helped business owners avoid the same type of legal challenges he would one day face upon his return to the think tank world.”⁵Connor D. Wolf. “CEI’s Kent Lassman: Meeting Policy With People,” InsideSources. August 9, 2017. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kH7px. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Before DCI, Lassman worked for FreedomWorks, Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation,⁶“A Thorn With a Smile” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute, April 25, 2016. the Progress & Freedom Foundation, the State Policy Network (SPN), and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).⁷“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z ⁸“Gibbons spurns lobbying to seek medical research investments,” Politico, March 22, 2016. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MtXeC

CEI’s website, as of February 2025, claimed, “The climate catastrophe narrative is based on global climate models that inflate greenhouse gas emission scenarios and have been falsified by the past four decades of temperature data” and that “The real costs of proposed solutions to the alleged crisis hugely exceed their hypothetical benefits.⁹“Energy and Environment,” CEI. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SzReH

“CEI has been instrumental in fighting decades of climate alarmism and anti-energy policies that constrict energy supplies, raise prices, and stoke unjustified pessimism about human adaptive capabilities,” the website noted.¹⁰“Energy and Environment,” CEI. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SzReH

Lassman has been a member of the Atlas Network‘s “Global Council of CEOs,” whose members “provide strategic counsel to Altas Network leadership on its evolving strategies and programs.”¹¹“Atlas Network’s Global Council of CEOs team,” Atlas Network. Archived February 5, 2025. CEI itself has been a long-time partner of the Atlas Network, at least as recently as 2021, when partners were last listed publicly on the Atlas Network’s website.¹²“Global Directory: United States,” Atlas Network, Archived January 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5Igb4

Stance on Climate Change

September 18, 2023

Lassman posted the following on Twitter/X:¹³“Q. What’s your policy strategy for climate change?” Post on x.com by user “@KentatCEI,” September 18, 2023. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.

“Q. What’s your policy strategy for climate change?
A. Adaptation.

Radical proposals rooted in de-growth or de-carbonization are ineffective and immoral.”

Q. What's your policy strategy for climate change?
A. Adaptation.

Radical proposals rooted in de-growth or de-carbonization are ineffective and immoral. pic.twitter.com/9hu1ROH1m5

— Kent Lassman (@KentatCEI) September 18, 2023

He reiterated in another post:

“A wealthier society today also increases the probability that future generations can meet the risks, both known and unknown, of tomorrow.

My climate strategy is adaptation and that starts with protecting property rights and the rule of law in the here and now.”

A wealthier society today also increases the probability that future generations can meet the risks, both known and unknown, of tomorrow.

My climate strategy is adaptation and that starts with protecting property rights and the rule of law in the here and now. pic.twitter.com/cfzTKoWfHS

— Kent Lassman (@KentatCEI) September 18, 2023

November 11, 2021

Lassman wrote an article at the National Review titled “COP26 Cables: Lights, Camera, Action!” referencing a recent Climate Action Tracker (CAT) paper that predicted warming of 2.7 degrees Celsius this century:¹⁴Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: Lights, Camera, Action!” National Review, November 11, 2021. Archived November 20, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“While the CAT models assume that all warming is due to human activity (something which is hard to reconcile with the record of global industrialization in the past 150 years), it is a respected source and was on everyone’s lips in Glasgow,” Lassman wrote.

He added, under a subheading for “Today’s Takeaway for Free-Marketers”:

“The draft text leans heavily on the notion of adaptation. People around the world are worried about the negative consequences of potentially dramatic changes in climate. Poorer countries want money to prepare and adapt for flooding, fire, migration, and changes in agriculture. But the most important, flexible, and powerful toolkit for adaptation is neither a COP statement nor direct foreign aid. It is prosperity and the innovation that flows from a wealthy, healthier society.”

November 9, 2021

Lassman wrote the following at National Review in an article titled “COP26 Cables: Nothing Is Quite as It Seems in Glasgow.”¹⁵Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: Nothing Is Quite as It Seems in Glasgow,” National Review, November 9, 2021. Archived January 28, 2022. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.

“Unfortunately, it has been shown in peer-reviewed literature that the direct descendants of [Suki] Manabe’s models perform the worst when compared with actual observations over the earth’s tropics, a critical data point. Again, things are not always as they seem.”

Lassman linked to an article by Patrick J. Michaels as evidence.¹⁶Patrick J. Michaels. “Nobel Prize Awarded for the Worst Climate Model,” RealClear Policy, October 26, 2021. Archived June 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RfeoZ

April 22, 2021

“The most robust response to global challenges such as climate is adaptation. Adaptive solutions require economic development. It is the principal means by which additional resources can be created to devote to the central threats to our ecosystem,” Lassman wrote in the Washington Examiner.¹⁷Kent Lassman. “Our conversation about the environment is broken. What is the way forward?” Washington Examiner, April 22, 2021. Archived February 7, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2zXXd

August 17, 2021

Lassman declared the following in a CEI video titled “Fear-mongering and Climate Change: Not A Policy Paper, Just A Thought:¹⁸“Fear-mongering and Climate Change: Not A Policy Paper, Just A Thought,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute,” August 17, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“You may have seen recent headlines that a major U.N. climate report predicts that we’re headed for an apocalypse if we don’t radically restrict energy use. It’s classic fear mongering and unhelpful to the debate we need. Here’s why:

“In the report, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lists several scenarios for future carbon dioxide emissions, a key ingredient of climate change. By their own admission, the probability of the doomsday scenario, which is grabbing all the headlines, is low. How low? We don’t know, because they won’t say.

“The IPCC report relies on a dire scenario. It enables glib assertions about the perils to humanity if we don’t mandate a disruptive and expensive move away from affordable sources of energy. It may not grab headlines, but what matters are reasonable responses to genuine risks. We must be honest about the effects on people less prepared to adapt to the new policies, especially lower income Americans.

“Climate change is real, and we ought to take steps to mitigate the downside effects, but cherry picking data to incite fear and advance a political agenda helps no one. Not a policy paper, just a thought.”

Key Quotes

October 24, 2023

Lassman posted on Twitter/X:¹⁹“Stories like this makes me wonder if professional climate catastrophists like @EngineNo_1 mean it when they try to push a low-energy future on us all…” Post on x.com by user “@KentatCEI,” October 24, 2023.

“Stories like this makes me wonder if professional climate catastrophists like
@EngineNo_1 mean it when they try to push a low-energy future on us all.

“Net-zero is not an ambition, it is a grift that kills real people who live at the margins.”

Stories like this makes me wonder if professional climate catastrophists like @EngineNo_1 mean it when they try to push a low-energy future on us all.

Net-zero is not an ambition, it is a grift that kills real people who live at the margins.https://t.co/OKynIFRck7

— Kent Lassman (@KentatCEI) October 24, 2023

May 11, 2023

Lassman commented on EPA’s Power Plant emissions rule under the Biden administration in a CEI press release:²⁰(Press Release). “Biden EPA’s Power Plant Emissions Rule Seeks to Shutter Certain Power Plants without Authorization from Congress,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 11, 2023. Archived February 6, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PQA9P

“The problem President Biden seeks to solve is modest, distant, and uncertain. The technology girding his response is not available. The supply of new power is coming online slower than he will take current supply out of the market. Coal and gas are most efficient base load,” Lassman said.

“The law doesn’t allow this sort of restructuring of American life by an agency. The list of obstacles — legal, technological, commercial, — is longer than the proposed rule. This is not serious governance. It is farce.”

November 20, 2022

“There is no technological path to a phase-down of fossil fuels. De-growth and de-industrialization form the only path to the elimination of the tried and true when it comes to changing energy sources on the scale that many climate policy-makers are looking for,” Lassman wrote at National Review.²¹Kent Lassman. “COP27 Cables: Cash, Promises, and Absurdity,” National Review. November 20, 2022. Archived November 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

He concluded, “Trading off higher costs, lower security, longer supply chains, and greater overall emissions for the appearance of lower domestic emissions is a cynical political act but a direct result of the Paris climate agreement.”²²Kent Lassman. “COP27 Cables: Cash, Promises, and Absurdity,” National Review. November 20, 2022. Archived November 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

October 16, 2022

“ESG advocates and climate catastrophists alike have learned from Machiavelli, who wrote that there is ‘nothing more important than appearing to be religious.'”

[…]

They have argued that we must decarbonize the economy. Their objective is nothing short of a radical reformation of the global economy reliant on zero-emission energy sources,” Lassman wrote at the Daily Caller.”²³LASSMAN: Financial Giants Are Suddenly Realizing The Left’s ESG Movement Has Serious Downsides,” Daily Caller, October 16, 2022. Archived October 21, 2022.

November 16, 2021

“The purist notion of climate justice will never be reflected in the real world. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t face significant risks from the damage that those who believe in it may cause in pursuit of this dream. (Or should it be nightmare?),” Lassman wrote in an article at National Review titled “COP26 Cables: The Glasgow Pact Is a Cry for Central Planning.”²⁴Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: The Glasgow Pact Is a Cry for Central Planning,” National Review, November 16, 2021. Archived January 27, 2022.

Key Actions

December 2024

Lassman spoke at a Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) event in a session on “The Politics of Freedom & Progress in 2028.”²⁵“The Politics of Freedom & Progress in 2028 at Freedom & Progress 2024,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity,” December 4, 2024. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

FREOPP is a partner of the State Policy Network based in Austin, Texas.²⁶“THE NETWORK: AFFILIATES,” State Policy Network. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IGOMq

February 13, 2024

Lassman co-wrote an article at National Review with Wyoming Republican senator Cynthia Lummis titled “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism.” The article discussed Davos’s 54th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting.²⁷Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK

“For decades, climate extremists have tried to scare the public into huge, immediate sacrifices to address what they perceive as a crisis. They willfully ignore the significant and life-altering consequences of making such sacrifices, and also ignore the reality that a better tomorrow results from greater human ingenuity and abundance today,” Lassman and Lummis wrote.²⁸Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK

They suggested, “Congress should adopt legislation such as the POWER Act, which would prohibit any administration from blocking energy or mineral leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters without prior congressional approval.”.²⁹Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK

January 5, 2021

Then-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler spoke on regulatory reform with Kent Lassman at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.³⁰“EPA Administrator Wheeler on Regulatory Reform,” C-SPAN, January 5, 2021. Archived February 5, 2025. Archived .mp4 via YouTube on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jw3Up

July 23, 2020

Kent Lassman moderated CEI’s “False Alarm” book forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Myron Ebell. Introducing Lomborg, Lassman commented, “His skepticism has been a welcome tonic to the reigning consensus on climate alarmism for nearly three decades.”³¹“False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Lomborg commented, describing his book False Alarm:³²“False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“So, you know, fundamentally, the book is about combating this climate existential catastrophism that we that we seem to be seeing right now. … And so to just give you one sense of how much there’s a disconnect between this catastrophism and what is really happening, the U.N. climate panel tells us that by 2070, some say 2075, the net negative impact of global warming is equivalent to reducing our income somewhere between 0.2 and 2%. Now, by the 2070s, the U.N. also estimates each person on the planet will be 2.63 times richer than we are today. So, if we calculate into the equation global warming, that means instead of being 2.63 times richer by 2075 we’ll be 2.56 times richer. Now, that is less desirable. Yes, I get that. That is a problem, but it’s certainly not the end of the world. So my point is, first of all, look, this is not the end of the world. It’s a problem.”³³“False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

During the session, Lassman described CEI’s “long history” with Bjorn Lomborg:³⁴“False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“Some of our viewers may not be aware there’s a long history between you and your work and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Way back in 2001, we hosted you in the Capitol, the United States Capitol, for a book event when you released a very eye-catching The Skeptical Environmentalist. In 2003, you received the highest award that we issued, the Julian Simon Memorial Award.”

July 29, 2019

Kent Lassman co-authored a report with Daniel Turner of Power the Future titled “What the Green New Deal Could Cost a Typical Household.”³⁵“What the Green New Deal Could Cost a Typical Household” (PDF), retrieved from CEI.org. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“At its root, the Green New Deal is a radical blueprint to de-carbonize the American economy. Carbon—whether contained in wood, coal, gas, or oil—is a byproduct of burning fuel. Eliminating these energy sources would have massive ramifications for the economy,” Lassman and Turner wrote in the report.

They concluded:

“[W]e can conclude that the Green New Deal is an unserious proposal that is at best negligent in its anticipation of transition costs and at worst is a politically motivated policy whose creativity is outweighed by its enormous potential for economic destruction.”

According to Lassman and Turner, their report “requires a considerable number of assumptions” and relied partly on data compiled by the American Enterprise Institute. The report’s introduction predicted a “steep economic depression” based on calculations of average household cost increases from the implementation of the GND.

The authors did not comment on the science of climate change or the consensus perspective of its present and future impacts.

July 18, 2018

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, represented by Kent Lassman, was among the signatories of a letter supporting an anti-carbon tax resolution from House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.).³⁶“41 Conservative Groups Support Scalise/McKinley Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution,” Americans for Tax Reform, July 18, 2018. Archived February 8, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“We oppose any carbon tax. We oppose a carbon tax because it would lead to less income and fewer jobs for American families,” the letter read. “We support the House Concurrent Resolution in opposition to a job-killing carbon tax and urge members to co-sponsor and support this effort.”³⁷“41 Conservative Groups Support Scalise/McKinley Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution,” Americans for Tax Reform, July 18, 2018. Archived February 8, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The resolution would call a carbon tax “detrimental to the United States economy.” E&E News reported it was similar to a measure that passed the House in 2016. Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida, co-chairman of the Climate Solutions Caucus, said he would not vote for the resolution.³⁸Nick Sobczyk. “House voting on anti-carbon-tax measure: ‘Pass the popcorn’,” E&E News, July 16, 2018. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/aTP8h

“Protecting our environment and economic growth are not mutually exclusive,” Curbelo said and continued with: “The resolution presents a false choice.”³⁹Nick Sobczyk. “House voting on anti-carbon-tax measure: ‘Pass the popcorn’,” E&E News, July 16, 2018. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/aTP8h

After the anti-carbon-tax measure’s introduction, The Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) issued a point-by-point rebuttal.⁴⁰“Teaching opportunities from House Concurrent Resolution 119 (H.Con.Res.119)” (PDF), Citizens’ Climate Lobby, April 30, 2018.

December 12, 2017

Lassman wrote at CEI that he had had several meetings at the White House, including invitations from Scott Pruitt.⁴¹Kent Lassma. “President’s Fall Policy Update,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, December 12, 2017. Archived December 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eohIy

“Administrator Scott Pruitt invited me along with three colleagues for a signing ceremony where he officially put in place new conflict of interest requirements for the 22 scientific advisory boards at the EPA,” Lassman wrote, concluding:

“As a representative of the dozens of analysts, fellows, and lawyers who toil away at CEI, in the last two months I’ve found myself in multiple meetings at Office of Mangement [sic] and Budget, the EPA, and the White House. I can make an unqualified assertion: It is nice when the government wants our advice on how to shape a policy proposal.”

July 12, 2016

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, represented by Kent Lassman, was among 22 groups in a “Coalition” open letter pushing back against what the Heartland Institute describes as an “affront to free speech.” The groups are responding to the recent Web of Denial Resolution brought up in the Senate, calling out fossil fuel industry-funded groups denying climate change.⁴²Jim Lakely. “#WebOfDenial Push by Senate Dems Exposes Their Hatred of Free Speech,” Somewhat Reasonable (Heartland Institute Blog), July 12, 2016. Archived July 14, 2016. Archive URL: http://archive.today/Vx5kC.

According to the Climate Investigations Center, all but one of the open letter’s signatory organizations have taken money (totaling at least $92 million since 1997) from the “climate denial web,” including the Koch Brothers’ various foundations, ExxonMobil, and two “Dark Money” organizations, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund.⁴³Cindy Baxter. “Front Groups Attacking #WebofDenial Senate Action Took Over $92M in Dark, Dirty Money,” DeSmog, July 14, 2016. Originally posted at Climate Investigations Center.

Championed by Senators Whitehouse, Markey, Schatz, Boxer, Merkley, Warren, Sanders, and Franken, the resolution condemns what they are calling the #WebOfDenial — “interconnected groups – funded by the Koch brothers, major fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, identity-scrubbing groups like Donors Trust and Donors Capital, and their allies – developed and executed a massive campaign to deceive the public about climate change to halt climate action and protect their bottom lines.”⁴⁴Brendan Demelle. “Senators Launch Resolution, Speech Blitz Calling Out #WebOfDenial Blocking Climate Action,” DeSmog, July 11, 2016.

The open letter addresses the senators, calling them “tyrants”: 

“We hear you. Your threat is clear: There is a heavy and inconvenient cost to disagreeing with you. Calls for debate will be met with political retribution. That’s called tyranny. And, we reject it.”⁴⁵“Coalition Letter to Senate Web of Denial Resolution” (PDF). Retrieved from the Heartland Institute. Archived July 14, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The complete list of signatories and their respective organizations is as follows:

• Grover Norquist — Americans for Tax Reform
• Lisa B. Nelson — American Legislative Exchange Council
• John A. Charles, Jr. — Cascade Policy Institute
• David Rothbard — Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
• Kent Lassman — Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Nicole Neily — Franklin Center for Government and Policy Integrity
• Benita Dodd — Georgia Public Policy Foundation
• Bridgett Wagner — The Heritage Foundation
• Fred Birnbaum — Idaho Freedom Foundation
• Joseph Bast — The Heartland Institute
• J. Robert McClure III — James Madison Institute
• Brett Healy — The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy
• Kory Swanson — John Locke Foundation
• Dave Trabert — Kansas Policy Institute
• Jason Hayes — Mackinac Center for Public Policy
• Brent Mead — Montana Policy Institute
• Sharon J. Rossie — Nevada Policy Research Institute
• Sally Pipes — Pacific Research Institute
• Kevin Kane — Pelican Institute for Public Policy
• Paul J. Gessing — Rio Grande Foundation
• Lynn Taylor — Virginia Institute for Public Policy
• Carol Platt Liebau — Yankee Institute for Public Policy

May 18, 2016

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) placed a full-page color advertisement in The New York Times⁴⁶“CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW titled “Abuse of Power” (PDF).  The ad was an open letter from 43 signatories, including organizations and individuals, responding to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker, and the coalition of Attorneys General investigating groups denying man-made climate change.⁴⁷ “Abuse of Power: All Americans have the right to support causes they believe in” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“Attempts to intimidate CEI and our allies and silence our policy research are unconstitutional,” said CEI president Kent Lassman. “The First Amendment protects us and everyone has a duty to respect it – even state attorneys general.  CEI will continue to fight for all Americans to support the causes in which they believe.”⁴⁸“CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW

The Competitive Enterprise Institute received a subpoena from AG Walker on April 7, 2016. On April 20, CEI filed an objection to the subpoena, calling it “offensive,” “un-American,” and “unlawful,” and contending that AG Walker is “violating CEI’s First Amendment rights.”⁴⁹“CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW

Echoing the “freedom of speech” argument were ExxonMobil’s legal team, as well as numerous other conservative groups, including the Pacific Legal Foundation, Heritage Foundation, and the recently-formed Free Speech in Science Project, a group created by the same lawyers who defended the Competitive Enterprise Institute in the past.⁵⁰Steve Horn. “Exxon’s Lawyer in Climate Science Probe Has History Helping Big Tobacco and NFL Defend Against Health Claims,” DeSmog, May 10, 2016.

The CEI letter lists the following signatories:

• Kent Lassman — President & CEO, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• C. Boyden Gray — Former White House Counsel
• Andrew C. McCarthy — Former Chief Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York
• Michael B. Mukasey — U.S. Attorney General, 2007-2009; U.S. District Judge, 1988-2006
• Ross McKitrick — Professor of Economics, University of Guelph
• Ronald D. Rotunda — Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, Chapman University
• Richard S. Lindzen — Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences, MIT
• William Happer — Emeritus Professor of Physics, Princeton University
• Jim DeMint — President, The Heritage Foundation
• James H. Amos, Jr. — President & CEO, National Center for Policy Analysis
• John A. Baden — Chairman, Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment
• Lisa B. Nelson — CEO, American Legislative Exchange Council
• Paul Driessen — Author & Energy Policy Analyst
• Thomas J. Pyle — President, Institute for Energy Research
• Steven J. Allen — Vice President & Chief Investigative Officer, Capital Research Center
• David Ridenour — President, National Center for Public Policy Research
• Steven J. Milloy — Publisher, JunkScience.com
• Brooke Rollins — President & CEO, Texas Public Policy Foundation
• Paul Gessing — President, Rio Grande Foundation
• Ron Arnold — Researcher & Author
• William Perry Pendley — President, Mountain States Legal Foundation
• Adam Brandon — President & CEO, FreedomWorks
• Hank Campbell — President, American Council on Science and Health
• Craig Rucker — Executive Director, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
• Tom McCabe — CEO, Freedom Foundation
• Richard B. Belzer — Economist
• Heather R. Higgins — President & CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
• Joseph G. Lehman — President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
• Sabrina Schaeffer — Executive Director, Independent Women’s Forum
• Joseph Bast — President, The Heartland Institute
• John C. Eastman — Founding Director, The Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence
• Robert Alt — President & CEO, The Buckeye Institute
• Michael Pack — President & CEO, The Claremont Institute
• Josh Blackman — Assistant Professor, South Texas College of Law
• Lynn Taylor — President, Tertium Quids
• David Rothbard — President, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
• Tracie Sharp — President & CEO, State Policy Network
• Kenneth Haapala — President, Science and Environmental Policy Project
• Tim Phillips — President, Americans for Prosperity
• Myron Ebell — Director of the Center for Energy & Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
• George Landrith — President, Frontiers of Freedom
• John Tillman — CEO, Illinois Policy Institute
• Craig D. Idso — Chairman, Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change

The ad complained that several state investigations into Exxon’s climate denial campaign attacked the undersigned groups. According to the Climate Investigations Center, the signatories received $10.1 million dollars from Exxon, ExxonMobil, and the ExxonMobil Foundation from 1997 to 2014.⁵¹Kert Davies. “Competitive Enterprise Institute NYT Ad Signatories Got $10 Million from Exxon,” Climate Investigations Center, May 19, 2016. Archived January 29, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XVty8

April 22, 2016

Lassman co-authored an article with CEI’s general counsel, Sam Kazman, at The Washington Post titled “The environmental campaign that punishes free speech“⁵²Sam Kazman and Kent Lassman. “The environmental campaign that punishes free speech,” The Washington Post, April 22, 2016. Archived January 2, 2024. after Claude Walker, the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands, demanded that CEI produce emails and donor lists⁵³Ben Jervey. “State Investigations Into What Exxon Knew Double, and Exxon Gets Defensive,” DeSmog, April 1, 2016. as part of a probe into ExxonMobil’s potential climate change denial.⁵⁴John H. Cushman Jr. “Think Tank With Fossil-Fuel Ties Subpoenaed in AG’s Climate Inquiry,” InsideClimateNews, April 8, 2016. Archived May 11, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fbF2O

“[T]he rhetoric of the AGs is blissfully oblivious to the First Amendment,” Lassman and Kazman claimed. They added, “As for breaching donor confidentiality, the obvious aims here are intimidation and to limit future use of the constitutionally protected right of anonymous donation.”⁵⁵Sam Kazman and Kent Lassman. “The environmental campaign that punishes free speech,” The Washington Post, April 22, 2016. Archived January 2, 2024. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.

2007

Lassman was reportedly a panelist at a State Policy Network annual meeting on a session titled “Strategies to Bring the Policy Heat: Collaborating with (c)4s, Hiring Investigative Reporters and Using Litigation.”⁵⁶‘Watchdog’ website puts a new spin on politics,” Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010. Archived August 12, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Affiliations

• Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) — President and CEO since 2016.⁵⁷“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• Center for International Private Enterprise — Board member.⁵⁸“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• DCI Group — Former vice president.⁵⁹“Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4
• FreedomWorks — Vice president for strategy⁶⁰“Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG (June 2006 – January 2008).⁶¹“Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• Citizens for a Sound Economy — Former director of technology and communications policy (1996 – 2001).⁶²“Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4
• The Progress and Freedom Foundation — Former research fellow and director (August 2001 – June 2006).⁶³“Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• State Policy Network (SPN) — Served on the President’s Advisory Council from 2003 to 2008.⁶⁴“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — Advisor to the Task Force on Telecommunications & Information Technology from 2001 to 2006.⁶⁵“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• Claremont Institute — Former Abraham Lincoln Fellow in Constitutional Government.⁶⁶“Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG ⁶⁷“Former Lincoln Fellows,” The Claremont Institute. Archived October 20, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rLFpf
• John Locke Foundation (JLF) — Awarded a 2006 E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders.⁶⁸“Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG
• TriEqual — Director (since April 2015).⁶⁹“Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• Maine Leads — Co-founder.⁷⁰“‘Watchdog’ website puts a new spin on politics,” Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010. Archived August 12, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Social Media

• @klassman — Personal account on X/Twitter
• @KentatCEI — Professional/CEI account on X/Twitter.
• Kent Lassman on LinkedIn

Publications

Kent Lassman’s profile at CEI notes he has “has appeared on numerous major news outlets including NPR, C-SPAN and Fox News and his byline has featured in the Washington Post, National Review, the Washington Examiner and more.”⁷¹“Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z

Other Resources

• “Kent Lassman,” Wikipedia.

Resources

• 1
  “Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 2
  “Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 3
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 4
  “Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4
• 5
  Connor D. Wolf. “CEI’s Kent Lassman: Meeting Policy With People,” InsideSources. August 9, 2017. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kH7px. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 6
  “A Thorn With a Smile” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute, April 25, 2016.
• 7
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 8
  “Gibbons spurns lobbying to seek medical research investments,” Politico, March 22, 2016. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MtXeC
• 9
  “Energy and Environment,” CEI. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SzReH
• 10
  “Energy and Environment,” CEI. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SzReH
• 11
  “Atlas Network’s Global Council of CEOs team,” Atlas Network. Archived February 5, 2025.
• 12
  “Global Directory: United States,” Atlas Network, Archived January 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5Igb4
• 13
  “Q. What’s your policy strategy for climate change?” Post on x.com by user “@KentatCEI,” September 18, 2023. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
• 14
  Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: Lights, Camera, Action!” National Review, November 11, 2021. Archived November 20, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 15
  Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: Nothing Is Quite as It Seems in Glasgow,” National Review, November 9, 2021. Archived January 28, 2022. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 16
  Patrick J. Michaels. “Nobel Prize Awarded for the Worst Climate Model,” RealClear Policy, October 26, 2021. Archived June 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RfeoZ
• 17
  Kent Lassman. “Our conversation about the environment is broken. What is the way forward?” Washington Examiner, April 22, 2021. Archived February 7, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2zXXd
• 18
  “Fear-mongering and Climate Change: Not A Policy Paper, Just A Thought,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute,” August 17, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 19
  “Stories like this makes me wonder if professional climate catastrophists like @EngineNo_1 mean it when they try to push a low-energy future on us all…” Post on x.com by user “@KentatCEI,” October 24, 2023.
• 20
  (Press Release). “Biden EPA’s Power Plant Emissions Rule Seeks to Shutter Certain Power Plants without Authorization from Congress,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 11, 2023. Archived February 6, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PQA9P
• 21
  Kent Lassman. “COP27 Cables: Cash, Promises, and Absurdity,” National Review. November 20, 2022. Archived November 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 22
  Kent Lassman. “COP27 Cables: Cash, Promises, and Absurdity,” National Review. November 20, 2022. Archived November 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 23
  LASSMAN: Financial Giants Are Suddenly Realizing The Left’s ESG Movement Has Serious Downsides,” Daily Caller, October 16, 2022. Archived October 21, 2022.
• 24
  Kent Lassman. “COP26 Cables: The Glasgow Pact Is a Cry for Central Planning,” National Review, November 16, 2021. Archived January 27, 2022.
• 25
  “The Politics of Freedom & Progress in 2028 at Freedom & Progress 2024,” YouTube video uploaded by user “The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity,” December 4, 2024. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 26
  “THE NETWORK: AFFILIATES,” State Policy Network. Archived February 4, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IGOMq
• 27
  Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK
• 28
  Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK
• 29
  Cynthia Lummis & Kent Lassman. “We Must Reject Our Elites’ Failed, Top-Down Environmentalism,” National Review, February 13, 2024. Archived February 13, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/YtZkK
• 30
  “EPA Administrator Wheeler on Regulatory Reform,” C-SPAN, January 5, 2021. Archived February 5, 2025. Archived .mp4 via YouTube on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jw3Up
• 31
  “False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 32
  “False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 33
  “False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 34
  “False Alarm Book Forum featuring Bjorn Lomborg,” YouTube video uploaded by user “Competitive Enterprise Institute, July 23, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
• 35
  “What the Green New Deal Could Cost a Typical Household” (PDF), retrieved from CEI.org. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 36
  “41 Conservative Groups Support Scalise/McKinley Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution,” Americans for Tax Reform, July 18, 2018. Archived February 8, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 37
  “41 Conservative Groups Support Scalise/McKinley Anti-Carbon Tax Resolution,” Americans for Tax Reform, July 18, 2018. Archived February 8, 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 38
  Nick Sobczyk. “House voting on anti-carbon-tax measure: ‘Pass the popcorn’,” E&E News, July 16, 2018. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/aTP8h
• 39
  Nick Sobczyk. “House voting on anti-carbon-tax measure: ‘Pass the popcorn’,” E&E News, July 16, 2018. Archived August 2, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.fo/aTP8h
• 40
  “Teaching opportunities from House Concurrent Resolution 119 (H.Con.Res.119)” (PDF), Citizens’ Climate Lobby, April 30, 2018.
• 41
  Kent Lassma. “President’s Fall Policy Update,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, December 12, 2017. Archived December 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eohIy
• 42
  Jim Lakely. “#WebOfDenial Push by Senate Dems Exposes Their Hatred of Free Speech,” Somewhat Reasonable (Heartland Institute Blog), July 12, 2016. Archived July 14, 2016. Archive URL: http://archive.today/Vx5kC.
• 43
  Cindy Baxter. “Front Groups Attacking #WebofDenial Senate Action Took Over $92M in Dark, Dirty Money,” DeSmog, July 14, 2016. Originally posted at Climate Investigations Center.
• 44
  Brendan Demelle. “Senators Launch Resolution, Speech Blitz Calling Out #WebOfDenial Blocking Climate Action,” DeSmog, July 11, 2016.
• 45
  “Coalition Letter to Senate Web of Denial Resolution” (PDF). Retrieved from the Heartland Institute. Archived July 14, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 46
  “CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW
• 47
  “Abuse of Power: All Americans have the right to support causes they believe in” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 48
  “CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW
• 49
  “CEI Runs “Abuse of Power” Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DF7gW
• 50
  Steve Horn. “Exxon’s Lawyer in Climate Science Probe Has History Helping Big Tobacco and NFL Defend Against Health Claims,” DeSmog, May 10, 2016.
• 51
  Kert Davies. “Competitive Enterprise Institute NYT Ad Signatories Got $10 Million from Exxon,” Climate Investigations Center, May 19, 2016. Archived January 29, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XVty8
• 52
  Sam Kazman and Kent Lassman. “The environmental campaign that punishes free speech,” The Washington Post, April 22, 2016. Archived January 2, 2024.
• 53
  Ben Jervey. “State Investigations Into What Exxon Knew Double, and Exxon Gets Defensive,” DeSmog, April 1, 2016.
• 54
  John H. Cushman Jr. “Think Tank With Fossil-Fuel Ties Subpoenaed in AG’s Climate Inquiry,” InsideClimateNews, April 8, 2016. Archived May 11, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fbF2O
• 55
  Sam Kazman and Kent Lassman. “The environmental campaign that punishes free speech,” The Washington Post, April 22, 2016. Archived January 2, 2024. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 56
  ‘Watchdog’ website puts a new spin on politics,” Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010. Archived August 12, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 57
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 58
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 59
  “Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4
• 60
  “Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG
• 61
  “Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 62
  “Kent Lassman,” DCI Group. Archived November 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yODK4
• 63
  “Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 64
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 65
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z
• 66
  “Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG
• 67
  “Former Lincoln Fellows,” The Claremont Institute. Archived October 20, 2014. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rLFpf
• 68
  “Team FreedomWorks: Kent Lassman,” FreedomWorks. Archived February 7, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JjkeG
• 69
  “Kent Lassman,” LinkedIn. Accessed January 2025. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 70
  “‘Watchdog’ website puts a new spin on politics,” Portland Press Herald, October 2, 2010. Archived August 12, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 71
  “Kent Lassman,” Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived January 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/s1D1Z