Impeachment Victim? Energy Secretary Perry To Resign In November

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is planning to hand in his resignation next month, Politico has reported, citing three unnamed sources in the know.

According to the sources, Perry has been considering resigning for several months now, and his indirect involvement in the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump may have helped him make his mind, Politico wrote. The sources themselves said the Ukraine scandal that led to the impeachment probe had no role in Perry's decision to leave.

Perry's name got mixed up in the scandal because of a U.S. delegation the Energy Secretary led to Ukraine for the inauguration of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The delegation was initially supposed to be led by Vice President Mike Pence but Perry was named instead of him in the last minute. At the time, according to a whistleblower report cited by Politico, Washington was trying to see if Zelensky would be pro or anti Trump.

There has been no evidence, however, that Rick Perry has been involved in President Trump's alleged attempts to start an investigation of his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Following the Politico report, Reuters quoted a statement from the Energy Department that said "While the beltway media has breathlessly reported on rumors of Secretary Perry's departure for months, he is still the Secretary of Energy and a proud member of President Trump's Cabinet. One day the media will be right. Today is not that day."

Rick Perry is Texas's longest-serving governor and two-time presidential candidate in the Republican primaries. He has also been at the spearhead of President Trump's energy dominance agenda, which has involved regulatory support for the oil and gas industry as well as opening up new federal land for drilling in addition to facilitating more energy exports. According to Politico's sources, Perry will be replaced by Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouilette.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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