Energy pick vows to boost agency he pledged to scrap
WASHINGTON — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Energy Department, vowed to be an advocate for an agency he once pledged to eliminate and promised to rely on federal scientists, including those who work on climate change.
Perry told a Senate committee on Thursday that he regrets his infamous statement about abolishing the department and insisted it performs critical functions, particularly in protecting and modernizing the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
“My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking,” Perry said.
In 2011, at a Republican presidential primary debate, Perry became a punchline who famously forgot the department was one of the agencies he wanted to eliminate.
At his confirmation hearing, Perry also pledged to promote and develop American energy in all forms, advance the department’s science and technology mission, and carefully dispose of nuclear waste. And he acknowledged that climate change is real.
Several Democrats expressed concern about news reports indicating that the Trump administration plans major cuts to the department’s budget, including eliminating the offices of electricity, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Environmental groups have derided Perry’s nomination, calling him a steep drop-off from the two renowned physicists who preceded him as energy chief, Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz. Perry earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas A&M University, where he was also a member of the Corps of Cadets and a Yell Leader.