Senate Confirms Rick Perry As Energy Secretary

It's a done deal. Rick Perry, who said he thought the job would focus primarily on being a booster for the energy industry, was confirmed today by the Senate and is now President Trump's energy secretary.

The former Texas governor presided over an oil boom in Texas during his tenure heading the state, and ran for president in 2012 and 2016. In 2011, he vowed to eliminate the Energy Department, a statement he has since said he regrets.

As energy secretary, Perry will oversee a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and a network of national laboratories. Critics have expressed concern about his ability to protect the department from budget cuts, and some worry that his hesitancy to acknowledge climate change could mean an end to the department's research into technology designed to fight the effects of global warming.

Perry, however, told senators during his conformation hearing that he had changed his mind on the issue: “I believe the climate is changing. I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by man-made activity.”

Perry, who in 2015 called Trump a "cancer on conservatism," becomes the third Texan to serve as energy secretary. Charles Duncan, a Houstonian, was Jimmy Carter's energy chief, and Federico Peña held the same position for Bill Clinton.

Perry had the support of both Texas senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans. Ten Democrats voted to confirm Perry, including Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, of North Dakota, Maryland's Ben Cardin, and Sen. Robert Menendez, of New Jersey.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, voted against Perry's confirmation, voicing concerns about his refusal to answer questions about whether he would maintain the department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

"We tried to get Gov. Perry to make a solid statement on these issues, but that's a commitment that he would not make," Cantwell said.

— Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Michael Vadon