Perry tells of change of heart over agency he wanted gone
WASHINGTON — How do you lead 13,000 people, including some of the most accomplished scientists in the world, who you once infamously said should be eradicated from the federal budget?
If you’re Rick Perry, the new secretary of energy, you get right to the point.
“To be able to come to this agency is an extraordinary journey for me. I still get reminded on a regular basis of something I couldn’t remember in a debate on this agency,” Perry told employees of the Energy Department on Friday. “But I want for you to know what a powerful advocate you’re going to have in that corner office.”
Perry, the former Texas governor, reported for his first day of work after his confirmation by the Senate on Thursday on a bipartisan 62-37 vote. In a speech broadcast on YouTube, he explained his change of heart since 2011, when, while running for president, he said in a debate that he’d do away with three federal agencies. It became a famous gaffe when he couldn’t remember the name of the third agency — the Energy Department.
After quitting the race and returning to the governor’s office, Perry said he had an epiphany while working on a partnership between a Texas university and the Sandia National Laboratories, one of the network of research labs overseen by the Energy Department.
“I had a very cursory
knowledge of the Department of Energy prior to that,” he said. “Knowing the potential of what we have in front of us and the jewels these labs are gave me a new appreciation.”
Perry, who served as governor from 2000 to 2015, moved through the confirmation process without much trouble. While known as a friend of the oil and gas industry, he also helped Texas become the nation’s leader in wind power. He said he supports an “all of the above” energy policy.
In his speech, Perry, whose predecessors at energy held doctoral degrees, acknowledged his own academic record made him an unlikely choice for the job. He promised employees he would have an “open door” and encouraged them to share their ideas and give him feedback.
“My lifetime dream was to be a veterinarian, from a very young age. Organic chemistry made a pilot out of me,” said Perry, who served as an Air Force pilot after graduating from Texas A&M. “Those of you who are extraordinarily brilliant scientists in those arenas, I admire you greatly.”
Ever the politician, Perry couldn’t help but offer a little insight into how President Donald Trump came to select him as energy secretary — despite Perry’s tough criticism of him in the Republican primary campaign during Perry’s second run for president.
“It was a pretty interesting conversation,” Perry said. “We had been rivals. I’d said some pretty harsh things about the president. I can assure you one thing, he is a very forgiving man… generally.”