December 13, 2016

Donald Trump Taps Rick Perry for Energy Secretary and Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State

The former Texas governor once said he wanted to eliminate the agency he’s been selected to lead.


After weeks of intense speculation, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had chosen Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state. The president-elect made the official announcement on Twitter:

Shortly afterward, the Associated Press and other media outlets reported that Trump had tapped former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy. During a Republican presidential debate in 2011, Perry said he wanted to get rid of the federal agency but could not remember its name. 

Since Tillerson was first spotted at Trump Tower on Saturday, both Democrats and Republicans have voiced strong concerns over his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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