Donald J. Trump’s cabinet is looking increasingly Texan. After announcing yesterday that Exxon-Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson will serve as The Donald’s secretary of state, today the president-elect made it official that former Texas Governor Rick Perry will serve as secretary of energy.
The New York Times was quick to point out the irony:
The selection of Mr. Perry to lead the energy agency would offer a rich paradox: During a televised debate in 2011, when he was seeking the Republican nomination, Mr. Perry intended to list the Department of Energy among agencies he wanted to eliminate, but he could not remember its name.
In addition to helping Trump follow through on his promise of boosting oil, gas, and coal production, Perry will be tasked with managing the National Nuclear Security Administration, a task which gobbles up 60 percent of the Energy Department’s budget. That administration manages the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and runs programs on nuclear nonproliferation and counterterrorism.
It’s a tough job. But it also offers Zac a better excuse than Dancing With the Stars to dust off his folder of Rick Perry reaction shots in order gives us the former-governor’s official take on being the new keeper of the country’s warheads.
