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Donald Trump administration Secretary of Energy appointment, 2017
From Ballotpedia
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Following his election as the 45th President of the United States in 2016, Donald Trump and his transition team considered individuals to fill the position of Secretary of Energy. The secretary of energy oversees scientific solutions to energy problems in a department originally designed to unite energy programs and defense programs related to the development of the atomic bomb. The Department of Energy is responsible for the nation's nuclear weapons program.[1] Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) was nominated for the position on December 13, 2016, and confirmed on March 2, 2017.
| Nomination tracker | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate: Rick Perry | ||
| Position: Secretary of Energy | ||
| Confirmation progress | ||
 | Announced: | December 13, 2016 |
| Hearing: | January 19, 2017 |
| Committee: | Energy and Natural Resources Committee |
| Reported: | January 31, 2017 17-6 |
| Confirmed: | March 2, 2017 |
| Vote: | 62-37 |
To read more about the U.S. Department of Energy and its current staff, click here.
Timeline
- See also: Rick Perry
The following timeline highlights noteworthy events related to this appointment.
- December 13, 2016: Trump nominated Rick Perry for the position.[2]
- January 19, 2017: Perry appeared before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for a confirmation hearing.[3]
- March 2, 2017: The. U.S. Senate voted 62-37 to confirm Perry.[4]
Policy stances
At the time of his nomination, Perry had the following known stances on issues related to energy:
- Nuclear Waste Disposal: Perry criticized the decision of the Obama administration to cut funding for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, a facility in southwestern Nevada that was designated to store high level radioactive waste (HLW) from around the country. In 2014, Perry suggested that Texas should take care of storing its own nuclear waste and added, “The citizens of Texas — and every other state currently storing radioactive waste — have been betrayed by their federal government after contributing billions of dollars to fund a federal solution to HLW waste, because a federal solution still does not exist.”
- Coal: As governor, Perry encouraged new coal power plants in Texas. In 2005, he streamlined the process for approving coal power plant permits through an executive order. According to The Texas Tribune, Perry has advocated for “clean coal,” an effort focused on utilizing technology to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from the use of coal. He established a clean coal technology council in 2002 and signed into law a bill that provided tax incentives for clean coal power plants in the state. Perry has echoed Trump’s assertion that the Obama administration has waged a “war on coal.” In 2014, he wrote an open letter to President Obama, saying, “More than 100 coal plants employing 15,000 Americans are closed or closing due to EPA regulations under your administration, and proposed new regulations will directly affect more than 37,000 employees across the nation, in addition to jeopardizing the reliability of our nation's electrical grid and increasing energy costs for families. This, despite your assurance of a renewed emphasis on American economic recovery.”
- Clean Energy: During Perry’s tenure as governor of Texas, the state became a leading producer of wind energy. In 2005, Perry signed legislation into law aimed at increasing Texas’ renewable energy capacities, and he supported a project that connected wind-energy projects in West Texas to several of the state’s larger metropolitan areas. In June 2014, Perry noted, “The nation’s leading developer of wind energy is not one of those progressive states on the East Coast or the West Coast. The No. 1 wind energy producing state in the nation is along the Gulf Coast. … our state is friendly to the development of all forms of energy from wind and solar, to clean coal, to natural gas and to nuclear, for that matter.”
- Fracking: Perry has been a supporter of hydraulic fracking, the process of injecting fluid—mostly water and sand (or proppant), but with additional chemicals—into the ground at a high pressure to fracture shale rocks to release the hydrocarbons, including oil and natural gas, inside. In April 2014, Perry criticized the state of New York’s ban on fracking. Referring to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), he said, “I don’t understand why a governor like Governor Cuomo, who is a smart and thoughtful individual, would allow a small group of radical environmentalists to stop job creation and to stop people’s ability to have a better life for themselves, especially when the science has proven to be safe.” As governor, Perry supported some regulation of fracking. In 2011, he signed a bill into law requiring companies to disclose all chemicals used in the hydraulic fracking process.
- Keystone XL Pipeline: Perry supported the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a proposed oil pipeline system running from northwest Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The pipeline was blocked by the Obama administration due to concerns over the pipeline’s environmental impact. In 2012, Perry wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in support of the pipeline. He said, “This extensive pipeline holds the potential of moving up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day—including oil produced in North Dakota and Montana—to refineries here in Texas. Translated into job numbers, that's up to 20,000 direct jobs and estimates of up to hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs created by this $7 billion project. Keystone would have provided a shot in the arm for our nation's uncertain economy, and it could have provided economic opportunity for tens of thousands of families, stretching from here in Texas all the way to the Canadian border.”
- Natural Gas Production: In a 2014 speech, Perry called for the federal government to create a plan for producing and exporting natural gas, which he called, “one of the single most important actions we can take to protect national security.” In the speech, Perry stressed the importance of U.S. energy independence, and, citing “aggression” from Russia, said that the U.S. should “build an energy shield to protect our allies.”
- Climate Change: Perry stated that the science on climate change is “not settled” and that it is “all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart under its own weight.” In 2011, he stated, “The idea that we would put Americans’ economy at jeopardy based on scientific theory that’s not settled yet to me is just nonsense. Just because you have a group of scientists who stood up and said here is the fact. Galileo got outvoted for a spell.”
- Iran Nuclear Deal: The Obama administration's final secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz, was involved with both the negotiations and promotion of the Iran Nuclear Deal. As a nominee for energy secretary, Perry was also in a position to become involved with the deal’s future, though his stance on the deal was different from Moniz’s. In July 2015, Perry stated, “President Obama's decision to sign a nuclear deal with Iran is one of the most destructive foreign policy decisions in my lifetime. For decades to come, the world will have to deal with the repercussions of this agreement, which will actually make it easier for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. … This deal is not a binding international treaty, but rather a political agreement among diplomats. I urge Congress to take the next 60 days of review very seriously. I will do everything in my power to work with the Senate to oppose this deal, including reaching out to Democratic senators.”
Considered candidates for Secretary of Energy
The table below highlights individuals who were either nominated to the position by Trump or were mentioned in the media as potential nominees.
| Considered candidates for Secretary of Energy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Notable experience | Source | |
| James Connaughton | Former environmental advisor to George W. Bush | The New York Times | |
| Robert Grady | Hedge fund manager | The New York Times | |
| Harold Hamm | CEO of Continental Resources, an oil company | The New York Times | |
| Sarah Palin | Former Gov. of Alaska | ABC News | |
| Kathleen Hartnett White | Former chair of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | ABC News | |
| Kevin Cramer | U.S. Representative from North Dakota | Politico | |
| Kristine Svinicki | Commissioner of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Politico | |
Rick Perry  |
Former Gov. of Texas | Politico | |
| Joe Manchin | U.S. Senator from West Virginia | Politico | |
| Heidi Heitkamp | U.S. Senator from North Dakota | The Washington Post | |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Energy.gov, "A Brief History of the Department of Energy," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ The New York Times, "Rick Perry, Ex-Governor of Texas, Is Trump’s Pick as Energy Secretary," December 13, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, "Rick Perry Testimony," January 19, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "Vote Number 79," accessed May 28, 2019
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