WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy, sources familiar with the transition process said.
Perry, 66, met with Trump on Monday, and the sources told NBC News that former presidential candidate will be nominated. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Texas oil and gas investor Ray Washburne were under consideration for the Cabinet post, CBS News reported.
Perry’s nomination comes with some irony. As a former presidential candidate, he favored abolition of the very department he could lead. He also neglected to remember its name during a November 2011 primary debate. He identified three agencies he sought to close, and named the Commerce and Education Departments before admitting, “The third one, I can’t. Sorry, oops.”
During the 2016 presidential primary campaign, Perry referred to Trump as a “barking carnival act” before dropping out of the race and endorsing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Perry is on the corporate board of Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access LLC. The Obama administration blocked construction by Dakota Access of an oil pipeline through North Dakota and South Dakota’s Lake Oahe reservoir, although Trump has said he supports the building of the pipeline. Trump is a former investor in Energy Transfer Partners.