Rick Perry picked to lead Energy Department in Trump Cabinet
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry smiled as he left Trump Tower, Monday, in New York.
NEW YORK >> Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Energy Department, according to news reports early today.
The former Republican campaign rivals met for about 90 minutes Monday. It’s unclear when the pick, reported by NBC News and ABC News, will be announced.
Energy is the department that Perry vowed to eliminate during the 2012 campaign but couldn’t remember in his infamous “oops” moment — a memory lapse during a 2011 GOP debate that hobbled his presidential ambitions. It’s unclear whether his mission in Trump’s administration would include disbanding the department.
Perry is expected to face scrutiny over his ties to the energy industry. When he left office, he joined the corporate boards of two companies run by Dallas billionaire Kelcy Warren. And in his long Texas political career, he drew significant campaign donations from energy executives.
On Monday afternoon, Perry strode past reporters and photographers at Trump Tower, boarding an elevator without making eye contact. He returned to the lobby about 90 minutes later and bumped into retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, waiting for an elevator back upstairs. They chatted briefly. Perry flashed a thumbs-up to a passer-by. Then he walked off, again without talking with reporters.
He ignored a shouted question about whether he still wants to abolish the Energy Department.
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Perry had his first interview at Trump Tower on Nov. 21, stoking rumors that Trump might find a spot in his administration for a man who, during the GOP primaries, called him a “cancer on conservatism.” Perry threw his support to Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Texan, as the field narrowed, but eventually came around and served as an enthusiastic campaign surrogate for Trump.
On Saturday, Perry and Trump met again at the Army-Navy football game.
Perry was Texas’ longest serving governor. He left office in early 2015.
On his first trek to Trump Tower, last month, speculation raged that Trump was eyeing him for a number of cabinet spots including Defense, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. Perry was state agriculture commissioner before he became lieutenant governor, and he’s an Air Force veteran. Trump aides said afterward that they had discussed homeland and border security and immigration policy, along with military issues and the fight against ISIS.
Trump ended up picking retired Marine Gen. James Mattis for Pentagon chief.
Much of the Energy Department’s efforts in recent years have been focused on nuclear energy and handling and disposal of fissile material.
Obama’s energy chiefs have been top-rate scientists. The current secretary, Ernest Moniz, who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, is a nuclear physicist who taught at MIT. He succeeded Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu, a Stanford University physicist who previously directed the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
42 responses to “Rick Perry picked to lead Energy Department in Trump Cabinet”
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how utterly absurd. This intellectually weak guy wanted to eliminate this department but got on his knees for Trump. Just another horrible appointment.
Know as the dumbest guy running for the Republican nomination for president Rick Perry will now be in charge of our nuclear stockpiles.
Trump’s whole mission is to put this government into the toilet, and with his cabinet picks he is making good on his promise. I bet it’s more a coalition of the willing since anybody with half a brain probably isn’t willing to ruin their career to accept a position in Trump’s regime.
Tillerson has no brain? Let’s see what the results are and judge by them. Obama’s results have been pretty poor. I think people are expecting changes and it looks like they are coming.
@ Denominator…Agree.
“Obama’s results have been pretty poor.”
You’re too kind. IMHO O IS the WORST potus in American history and that’s going by facts from the 8 years. O has done pretty much squat…and look at the Black Americans..they were completely forgotten.
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
allie calling Perry intellectually weak is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Dang ! Obama was right . Elections have consequences !
Meet the new swamp, ten times as big and ten times as deep as the old swamp. what a pick. This is really the best the Donald can come up with? How sad.
Do we even have an AGREEMENT on the definition of what the SWAMP is and what type of people live in the Swamp? It just seems like a word that is being throw around here and both sides appear to be defining it differently…It’s like the term FAKE NEWS, too much definitions on that one too…Judging from this board, both sides DEFINE Fake News as: ANY news that doesn’t agree with my point of view…#MAGA
Definition of the swamp ? Simple , it is the habitat of Snakes. A habitat that needs to be removed.
The tide is going out .
I think he’s sending the DOE a message with this appointment. Better polish up that resume because things are going to change dramatically at the DOE.
With most of the DOE’s work already being done by contractors, it may make sense to transfer what little is left to other departments and do away with the DOE.
allie and OldDriver, you know Rick Perry from the news media which only touches the surface about the man. Go back and look at the past 12 years of economic progress in Texas which is the most successful of any of the fifty states. Sure, he’s a politician, but was a darn good governor. I know, I live in Austin, Texas, and I can attest his leadership.
KaBoom!
January 20, 2017 #MAGA
Texas has some of the worse public schools and pollution in the U.S. Texas is a red state which is dependent on Blue states to support it’s economy. Besides in Texas the governor is a figure head, the Lt. Governor runs the show something you should know if you really lived in Texas.
I’m with sandi2000.
Rite80, You don’t know what you’re talking about between the governor and lt. governor. What a joke and uninformed you are. I do live in Austin and do know how ignorant your comment is.
You’re right, of course. The Texas Governor is the weakest of any state.
Hawaii has some of the worst public schools and it has the weakest Governor.
Ops ,Klastri just confirmed Sandi2000 ‘s veracity.
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS!
sandi2000 , you are wasting time and bandwidth on these over the hill nincompoops. History, facts, logic and truth mean nothing to them. These little cocoon dwellers will cling tenaciously to their pitiful myths by REFUSING to acknowledge what is right before their eyes.
And that is actually good news.
That means they will continue to underestimate President Elect Trump ( !!! ) and all of his first team picks. Being underestimated they will make all the right enemies and then proceed to eat their lunch.
For that reason the first hundred days marks the race course and the green flag goes down Jan 20.
Exciting times ahead!
Allie was hoping for Jill Stein.
Jill can’t be bothered. She’s busy making buck$. Big Buck$$$$$.
Texas big oil permiates the air. Trump should be made to wear a bucket of crude oil 24 hrs a day, so he can smell it.
Without BIG OIL we would still be chopping wood and burning coal.
and buying from O’s bros.
And riding around in horse and buggy, crossing the seas in sailing ships and flying the friendly skies in hot air balloons. The anti-oil people are really nut jobs.
Mr. Trump continues to recruit people into his Cult of Ignorance.
It would be hard to conjure up anyone less qualified than Rick Perry for this position.
Trump is a psychotic.
Trump has said over and over that he’s a super genius who doesn’t need any help to run the government, so this is just him telling everyone to f off while he runs everything into the ground.
Dr. Ernest Moniz, a physicist, brilliant mind, who apparently doesn’t know the meaning of taqiyya.
Little Barry Hussein’s “brain trust” are mostly political hacks who share his progressive America hating worldview. They may be the smartest people in the Ivory Towers but they have very little real practical world experience. By contrast Trump is appointing men and women with actual accomplishments on their resume. This predictably has Barry Hussein and his supporters running around like headless chickens. The fear being that Trump will expose Barry for the small, angry, empty suit that he really is. Question for the Tribune News Service: How is Dr. Moniz helping to negotiate the Iran Nuclear Deal positive for anyone but the terrorist supporting Iranian mullahs?
Are you really and truly this ignorant of world affairs?
The argument of INTELLIGENCE really depends on the topic being discussed? It is apparent that THIS comment boards TWO opposing groups are discussing two DIFFERENT topics…#MAGA
He kinda reminds me of Kent Clark? I guess Trump musta thought the same and decided he needed Supa Man in his Cabinet.
Anyone is better than WH SHAFT. Who’s Kent Clark?
Having industry leaders as cabinet and department head picks was a hallmark of the FDR administration to get America back on its feet…I don’t know if Trump is an FDR, but I think we can agree that the level of concern with making the country strong versus lining one’s pockets has changed dramatically over 80 something years. Remember Alan Greenspan and his pronouncement after 2008, which was complete surprise that people in responsible financial positions would be so greedy as to endanger the entire economy of the US.
Kanye West turned the job down.
The Energy Secretary oversees America’s nuclear arsenal. Trump has nominated Rick Perry to replace a nuclear physicist. Oops!
Not a problem. Transfer responsibility for the nuclear arsenal to the end users, the Department of Defense, and then abolish the Department of Energy.
…and the EPA, dept. Education, and the whole alphabet soup of departments.
The EPA has a budget between 8 and 9 billion dollars, with 96%of employees considered “non essential” when disclosed after the last govt. shut down.
Also mentioned then that many EPA employees sit around and watch porn on govt. computers all day while being very well compensated.
Any function now performed by the federal government that is not a fed responsibility under the Constitution should be eliminated or given back to the states where it belongs. Doing this would quickly eliminate the $20 trillion national debt.
I am going to enjoy the next 8 years. Just cruising through and watching the snowflakes of Hawaii cry then melt. Allie, klastri, boots et al…Hey boots how’s the portfolio looking? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
It’s a beautiful thing to watch eh dog?