Rick Perry to leave U.S. Energy Secretary position ‘later this year’

U.S. Secretary of the Department of Energy Rick Perry has decided to resign from his position, effective later this year.

Perry informed the U.S. President Donald Trump via a letter last Thursday that he would resign from the DOE Secretary role “at a date later this year.”

According to Bloomberg, Perry’s resignation came amid scrutiny in the House impeachment inquiry over his discussions with Ukraine.

Trump selected Rick Perry as the Secretary of the Department of Energy in December 2016 during his time as the President-elect. At the time, former Texas governor Perry was described by Trump’s transitional team as the “chief executive of one of the country’s largest states and one of the largest economies in the world.”

Perry was sworn in as the 14th Secretary of the United States Department of Energy on March 2, 2017, following a 62 to 37 vote in the U.S. Senate.

In his resignation letter to Trump, Perry thanked the President and the American people for the opportunity to serve and stated that he was looking forward to continuing supporting the President’s agenda after he returns home to Texas later this year.

Perry also released a video message to the employees of the Department of Energy, describing his post as the Energy Secretary as the “coolest job he ever had.”

Last week, President Trump stated via social media that he nominated Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette to be the new Secretary of Energy.

Brouillette has three decades of experience in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, he was the senior vice president and head of public policy for USAA, the Nation’s leading provider of financial services to the military community.

Before joining USAA, he was a vice president of the Ford Motor Company, where he led the automaker’s domestic policy teams and served on its North American Operating Committee.

Brouillette was also the Chief of Staff to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and an Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs from 2001 to 2003.

He is a former state energy regulator, having served as a member of the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board from 2013 to 2016.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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