The Senate on Thursday advanced the nomination of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be President Trump’s energy secretary, and set up a final vote that could happen as early as today.
A number of Democrats voted against Perry when his confirmation was put to a vote on the Senate energy committee. Eleven Democrats supported Perry in the procedural 62-37 vote on Thursday, including Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
There has been none of the political wrangling that has surrounded the appointment of former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who was confirmed ahead of the Presidents Day recess.
Democrats on the environment committee attempted to block a vote on Pruitt at the committee level, while also attempting to use an emergency court hearing in Pruitt’s home state to stall the Senate vote on the floor until thousands of emails were released from his office.
A lot of the problems that many Democrats have with Perry stem from news reports that Trump is considering major cuts at the energy agency, including plans to scrap a number of the offices at the department.
A number of green activist groups have been lobbying lawmakers to vote against Perry as energy secretary because of his stance on climate change. Perry said at his confirmation hearing that the Earth’s climate is changing, but to what extent it is changing, and what is causing it, is a subject for further debate.
