Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to step down in November, three sources tell Politico.
The report comes after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) sent a letter asking Perry to hand over details of his trip to Ukraine for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration in May, which was mentioned in a partisan CIA officer’s so-called “whistleblower” complaint regarding President Donald Trump’s July 25th telephone call with Zelensky. Politico notes the Trump cabinet member’s plans to leave his post have no relation to the Ukraine matter.
Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette will likely take over for Perry.
President Donald Trump nominated Perry as Energy Secretary on December 14th, 2016, and he was confirmed on March 2nd, 2017, by the Senate in a 62-37 vote.
Before joining the Trump administration, Perry served Texas’s longest-serving governor from December 2000 to January 2015.
He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2012 and 2016.