Perry rejoins pipeline board
Weeks after resigning as Secretary of Energy, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has rejoined the board of directors overseeing the Dallas pipeline company Energy Transfer.
In a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Energy Transfer reported that Perry had joined the board of directors for LE GP LLC, a company that owns and oversees the Dallas pipeline operator.
Exact compensation figures were not disclosed but under the company’s board rules, Perry would be eligible to receive an annual retainer of $100,000 as well as annual stock awards worth up to $100,000 in value.
Shortly after leaving the Texas governor’s office in 2015, Perry served on the board of directors for Energy Transfer and its pipeline and gas station subsidiary Sunoco.
Perry resigned from the two board seats to join the Trump administration as secretary of ener
gy in March 2017. He left the post in December. Perry’s long-planned departure coincided with the Ukraine scandal and the impeachment inquiry examining whether President Donald Trump held up military aid to Ukraine to pressure the government to investigate a political rival, former vice president Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter.
Although he did not testify, Perry was mentioned during the hearing as a player in the White House’s Ukraine strategy. Perry has denied any wrongdoing.
Founded by the Dallas billionaire Kelcy Warren in 1995, Energy Transfer has nearly 11,800 employees across the United States and Canada. The company posted a $1.7 billion profit on $54.1 billion of revenue in 2018.
Energy Transfer owns and operates more than 86,000 miles of pipelines across the United States. The company built controversial pipelines such as the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, which both faced criticism from Native American groups, environmentalists and other opponents.
Perry and Warren have a long history together. Warren donated $20,000 to Perry’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Texas Ethics Commission records show. The Dallas billionaire donated another $6 million to Perry’s unsuccessful presidential run in 2016. He also donated a combined $103,000 to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.