(Photo: Rick Perry at a DOE/NREL meeting in August 2018. Credit: Dennis Schroeder / NREL)Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry is planning to step down from his position in November, sources told journalists at the Washington Post and Politico. One source speculated that Perry will likely head back to the private sector.
In an administration known for turnover, the former Texas governor has been one of the Cabinet’s longest serving officials. “Perry has kept a low public profile during his time in the administration,” the Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin and Josh Dawsey wrote.
Politico journalists Ben Lefebvre and Theodoric Meyer first reported the expected resignation.
“Perry eagerly took the lead in Trump’s effort to resurrect the struggling coal industry, but his bid to persuade energy regulators to establish financial support for coal power plants was soundly rejected by the bipartisan Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,” they wrote. “He shifted his attention to promoting US supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas to foreign governments, positioning US energy supplies as a counterbalance to Russian and OPEC exports.”
Despite Trump’s repeated push to cut the DOE budget, particularly for climate research and renewable energy programs, the Washington Post noted that it actually grew from $34.6 billion in fiscal 2018 to $35.5 billion in fiscal 2019.
A spokesperson for the DOE emailed the Politico and Washington Post: “While the Beltway media has breathlessly reported on rumors of Secretary Perry’s departure for months, he is still the secretary of energy and a proud member of President Trump’s Cabinet. One day the media will be right. Today is not that day.”
The Washington Post journalists say that it’s unclear whether Trump would nominate a successor, “particularly if it would lead to a messy confirmation fight in an election year, and the president has said on several occasions that he likes to have acting officials in key positions.”
Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette is expected to replace Perry, three people “familiar with the matter” told Politico. When Brouillette was confirmed by a 79-17 vote in August 2017, the Hill reported that he was “one of a few fairly noncontroversial energy or environment nominees to come before the Senate so far during the Trump administration.”
Prior to being sworn in, Brouillette came from the private sector, where he was senior vice president and head of public policy for the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a group that provides financial services to the military. Before that, he was a vice president of Ford Motor Company, according to his official bio.
His government positions include working for the DOE as assistant secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs from 2001 to 2003, during President George W. Bush’s administration. “Brouillette has been filling in for Perry at Cabinet meetings for the past few months,” one source told Politico.
