Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, one of President-elect Trump’s top picks to run the Energy Department, is expected to meet with Trump on Monday at Trump Tower in New York to discuss the position.
Perry had been in the running since soon after Trump was elected, but much of the attention had turned in recent weeks to two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who have also been reported to be on the short list for energy secretary. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., is also another possibility to lead the Energy Department.
Perry’s name has been resurrected in the last 24 hours. CBS News reported that Perry, Manchin and former Republican National Committee chairman and Trump fundraiser Ray Washburne are now the only ones under consideration.
Perry famously forgot the Department of Energy in attempting to list the agencies he would close if elected president during the 2012 debate.
One possible hurdle for Perry is that he sits on the board of the company Energy Transfer Partners. That company is building the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota, which has become highly politicized recently as protesters and police clash over the proposed route of the project.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe claims the pipeline’s route would harm its drinking water supply. The Obama administration has halted the project and directed Energy Transfer Partners to find another route. The company is contesting the order as industry presses the incoming Trump administration to approve the project once in office.
