Former governor of Texas and Energy Secretary Richard Perry stepped down from his post on Sunday, according to an official statement. He will be replaced by Dan Brouillette, who was backed by the Senate in advance.
Today I bid farewell to the Department of @ENERGY. It has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to serve in the @realDonaldTrump Administration as your Secretary. Thank you to my wife, my children, and to the American people for allowing me to serve. Signing off. – RP pic.twitter.com/AlxYNLsqrf
— Rick Perry (@SecretaryPerry) December 2, 2019
Perry had been in the Trump administration as Secretary of Energy since March 2017. He announced his resignation after reports suggested he was behind the controversial 25 July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is at the centre of the US House's ongoing impeachment inquiry.
New Secretary: What Do We Know About Dan Brouillette
Dan Brouillette, who will take over from Perry, has been serving as US Deputy Secretary of Energy since August 2017. He was born in 1962 in Paincourtville, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Maryland.
Brouillette is a US Army veteran, who has been active in the private sector and also served in government agencies - he was Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the US Department of Energy from 2001 to 2003, and also served as Rep. Billy Tauzin's legislative director and Chief of Staff.
Senate advances nomination of Dan Brouillette to replace Energy Secretary Rick Perry - ABC News - https://t.co/KtafICPOSe via @ABC
— Kelly Callison (@kcallison) November 25, 2019
He also was a vice president at Ford Motor Company, running its domestic policy teams. Under Perry, the official was in charge of day-to-day operations at the Department of Energy.
