US Sec. of Energy Rick Perry announced that he will resign his position by yearend. “Now more than ever, I believe strongly in the mission of the Department of Energy. The people across the enterprise have a sincere commitment to this country. I feel comfortable that the department is well prepared to continue this mission with new leadership at the helm,” he said in his Oct. 17 letter to US President Donald Trump.
“I’ve said many times that I have the coolest job in the world and a big reason for that has been you, the men and women who serve alongside me at one of the most innovative places on earth, the [DOE],” he said in a video message to employees the same day. “Some people wake up every day and they wonder if they’re making a difference. The men and women who work at this department do not have to worry about that: You are literally changing the world.”
Perry repudiated his call to abolish DOE just 5 years earlier when he appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee early in 2017, following his nomination by Trump as Energy secretary. “My past statements…do not reflect my current thinking. In fact, after being briefed on so many of its vital functions, I regret recommending its elimination,” the former Texas governor said (OGJ Online, Jan. 19, 2017).
Soon after he took DOE’s helm, however, Perry emerged as one of the Trump administration’s more effective leaders. “During my time here at DOE, we pursued a truly ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy. We deployed all of our fuels from renewables to fossil fuels to nuclear energy. We led the world in producing oil and gas and in reducing energy-related carbon emissions at the same time,” he said.
“We achieved the magnificent goal of energy independence. We became a net exporter of natural gas for the first time in more than 60 years, offering freedom to our friends and allies from energy coercion by some powerful adversaries out there. And we’re ready to export our energy technology to deliver electricity to more than 1 billion human beings mired in energy poverty,” Perry maintained.
Perry’s departure, which already had been expected for months, followed reports 2 weeks earlier that Trump, in conversations with House Republicans, suggested that the Energy secretary suggested he make the July 25 telephone call that subsequently became controversial when the president asked Ukraine Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy to begin investigating former US Vice-President Joseph R. Biden and his son Hunter’s possible activities in that country.
