Trump Taps New Energy Secretary to Replace Rick Perry

Donald Trump said Friday he is nominating Dan Brouillette as his next US secretary of energy, one day after current secretary Rick Perry told the president he would leave the post later this year.

Thank you @realDonaldTrump for the honor of being nominated to serve as your Secretary of @Energy. I look forward to continuing @SecretaryPerry’s legacy of energy independence, innovation, and security for the American people. https://t.co/eVhdzRZ8so

— Dan Brouillette (@SecBrouillette) October 18, 2019

Perry, a former governor of Texas and a two-time presidential candidate, has been caught up in the impeachment probe engulfing Trump, notably with his role in helping coordinate controversial White House policy on Ukraine.

Brouillette has served as deputy secretary of energy since mid-2017.
He is a former Ford Motor Company executive who also spent several years working as a senior aide to a Republican congressman.

“Dan’s experience in the sector is unparalleled.
A total professional, I have no doubt that Dan will do a great job,” Trump said on Twitter.

Perry’s departure announcement came a day after the publication of an interview in which Perry said that — on Trump’s orders — he had communicated with the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani over alleged corruption in Ukraine.

Trump is threatened with impeachment for pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate his Democratic rivals ahead of the 2020 US elections.

Trump tweeted his thanks to Perry “for the outstanding job he has done.

He will be leaving at the end of the year to pursue other interests.”