Heinrich votes against Trump’s DOE pick
Washington — Sen. Martin Heinrich on Tuesday opposed the nomination of Rick Perry as secretary of the Department of Energy, a critical agency for New Mexico as it oversees work at the state’s two nuclear laboratories.
Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has now either voted against or announced his opposition to at least six of Trump’s nominees to lead the federal government. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has voted against three out of four Trump nominees on the Senate floor and signaled his skepticism about others.
Perry’s nomination cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 16-7 vote Tuesday, and the former Texas governor is almost certain to be confirmed by the full Senate. When running for president in 2011, Perry suggested abolishing the Energy Department, a position he recanted at his Senate confirmation hearing two week ago.
“He’s a very genuine person, and he’s trying really hard,” Heinrich said in a Journal interview Tuesday. “My concern is that it was incredibly disrespectful out of the gate for the Trump administration to nominate someone who had taken such a hostile view of this department.
“I set a very high bar for secretary of energy, in particular,” Heinrich added. “I give Gov. Perry good marks for really trying to learn this agency in a few weeks. … I just think we need something more fundamental in that incredibly important position.”
Heinrich’s opposition is not surprising considering he described Perry as “utterly unqualified” to lead the department when President Trump announced his nomination. But his “nay” vote puts the senator further at odds with the likely DOE chief before he even starts the job.
“I’m not going to hold a grudge — this is somebody we need to work with,” Heinrich said, adding that Perry will likely be confirmed by the full Senate and he hopes he doesn’t hold a grudge, either.
“I want to send a very clear message to the people who work for DOE and … the national labs that I am going to fight on their behalf, and it’s going to be true with regard to the very important nuclear deterrent and the applied research and climate science that gets done there,” Heinrich said.
The New Mexico lawmaker also said he was troubled by early indications that the Trump administration has disregarded positions taken by other nominees on controversial subjects such as torture of terrorism suspects or sweeping immigration bans. He said he’s concerned that the same disregard for secretarial leadership could happen at the Department of Energy.
“While Gov. Perry walked back his intent to eliminate the Department of Energy, the Trump administration almost simultaneously floated plans for deep budget cuts that threaten critical missions there,” Heinrich said.
Udall met with Perry on Tuesday to discuss his nomination. Udall has not said how he will vote.
“Sen. Udall has been skeptical about whether Gov. Perry was fully prepared to lead an agency with such a critically important national security mission,” said his spokeswoman, Jennifer Talhelm. “Regardless of how he votes, Sen. Udall will work closely with the Department of Energy in the best interest of New Mexico’s Department of Energy, national lab and WIPP employees and their surrounding communities.”