One of the key figures who came up during the House Intelligence hearings is officially no longer a member of the Trump administration.
Rick Perry, one of the longest-tenured members of the Trump administration and who was serving as the Secretary of Energy, is officially removed from his post.
Always Controversial
Perry has been controversial literally from the first day his nomination was made.
Hailing from Texas, Perry has always been and remains today a big believer in the fossil fuel industry.
He once stated that the entire Department of Energy should be scrapped, so it was rather ironic Trump handpicked him for the position of Secretary of Energy.
Perryâs issues were not exactly with the Energy Department, however, as much as it was the pile of regulations put in place by that department during the Obama administration.
On that front, Perry did an exceptional job, shredding regulations that resulted in the United States rising to the top of the rankings among the worldâs oil and gas-producing countries.
That, of course, did not endear him to Democrats, nor did his role in the phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky.
Urging the Phone Call
Rick Perry has regularly been included in the group of individuals tagged as the âthree amigosâ by the media and Democrats.
Perry was very active in the situation with Ukraine, reportedly being the one that strongly urged Trump to call Zelensky.
He has always maintained he only wanted Trump to call Zelensky to congratulate him and grease the way, not ask him for any quid pro quo.
The media and Democrats, however, have portrayed his role as significantly different.
When Perryâs resignation was first announced, many expected Trump was putting pressure on Perry to leave, but based on Trumpâs sendoff, that was far from the case.
When Perry initially announced his resignation, Trump sent out tweets stating, “I want to thank Secretary of Energy Rick Perry for the outstanding job he has done.
âHe will be leaving at the end of the year to pursue other interests. Rick was a great Governor of Texas and a great Secretary of Energy.
“He is also my friend! At the same time, I am pleased to nominate Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette to be the new Secretary of Energy.
âDanâs experience in the sector is unparalleled. A total professional, I have no doubt that Dan will do a great job!”
Perryâs future plans have not yet been announced, but there is plenty of speculation that he will run for office at some point in the very near future.