Rick Perry, Energy Secretary?

The Democrats
The Democrats
Published in
2 min readDec 20, 2016

In 2012, Rick Perry, then-governor of Texas, ran for president, and his platform included eliminating three federal government agencies: Education, Commerce, and … another one.

Oops!

The third department he wanted to eliminate was the Department of Energy. Four years later, Donald Trump has nominated Rick Perry to head that very department.

While this move is somewhat amusing, and extremely ironic, it’s also a frightening prospect. Here are some of the points against Perry’s nomination:

BEHOLDEN TO OIL & GAS

WON’T KEEP OUR PLANET LIVABLE

LACKS BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

  • The current Energy Secretary is Ernest Moniz, a distinguished nuclear physicist formerly of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to that, Steven Chu — a Nobel laureate physicist — filled the role. And their predecessor in the Bush administration had a Doctorate. The Senate has to ask themselves whether Perry’s bachelor’s degree in animal science prepared him to manage our nation’s nuclear program.
  • During his tenure as the governor of Texas, Perry’s administration was notoriously secretive, deleting emails after only a week and refusing to release records on topics like his daily schedule and the state’s technology fund.
  • Rick Perry’s last public role was a 12th-place finish on the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars.

In order to keep moving forward, we need an Energy Secretary who understands the complexities of nuclear policies and the importance of investing in renewable energy. Or, at the very least, an Energy Secretary who believes climate change is real and knows what his department does.

If you agree that Rick Perry is thoroughly unqualified for the role, share this post on Twitter and Facebook.

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The Democrats
The Democrats

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