U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Energy Department expressed misgivings Thursday for proposing to do away with the agency that manages the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
“I regret recommending it’s elimination,” Former Texas Governor Rick Perry said during confirmation hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
As a presidential candidate in 2011, Perry promised to eliminate the Energy Department. But Perry said Thursday he reversed course “after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy.”
Perry, who had a record 14-year tenure as the governor of the oil-rich state of Texas, has long promoted increased production of oil and other fossil fuels.
Despite his experience in the energy sector, his selection for energy secretary has drawn criticism. Critics contend he may not be suited to overseeing an agency that is largely dedicated to designing, managing and ensuring the safety of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
Perry, a self-professed climate skeptic, vowed to resort to science when crafting any climate-change policy as energy secretary.
“My record clearly shows that is the case,” he said.
In a book Perry authored in 2010 entitled Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, he described the science of human-induced climate change as a “phony mess.”
President-elect Trump has said climate change is the result of a campaign of deception promoted by China.
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