President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department struggled to defend against reports that the Trump transition team plans to make drastic cuts to the agency that he has been nominated to lead.
The Trump transition team is taking recommendations made by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which is calling for gutting the agency’s efficiency and clean energy programs, which caused handwringing by Democrats at former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s confirmation hearing Thursday morning.
Perry downplayed the reports about Trump embracing the Heritage recommendations. “There are always a lot of statements. Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s true.”
That being said, Perry vowed to support all the technologies supported by the agency. “I will be an advocate for that,” he said. “I can’t say I will be 1,000 percent successful in that,” but he will try, Perry said.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., raised the concerns, saying the Heritage recommendations would eliminate the offices of fossil energy, science and many other parts. “We are talking about massive cuts” that are “critical” to meeting the goals of those Perry outlined in his prepared remarks, she said.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., made the point that the cuts being proposed would hurt programs that helped create fracking and the shale oil and gas revolution. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, also raised cncerns about the proposed cuts.
Perry spent much of the early part of the hearing trying to beat back his previous statements as a presidential candidate when he touted that if elected he would close the Energy Department and other agencies.
