President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Department of Energy (DOE) said he regrets advocating the agency\u2019s elimination during his 2012 presidential campaign.
\u201cMy past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking,\u201d former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in prepared remarks before Thursday\u2019s confirmation hearings.
He will likely face questions from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources about his views on climate change as well.
\u201cIn fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination,\u201d Perry noted, referring to clunky comments he made during a presidential debate in 2012.
Trump\u2019s DOE nominee famously forgot that the Energy Department was one of a handful of federal agencies he promised to nix were he to become president. Perry ticked off a number of agencies he would eliminate before drawing a blank on Energy Department.
He later blurted out: \u201cBy the way, that was the Department of Energy I was reaching for a while ago.\u201d But the embarrassing gaff effectively ended Perry\u2019s 2012 White House bid \u2014 he launched another unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016 as well.
Democrats blanched at Perry\u2019s comments. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, for instance, expressed concerns over Perry\u2019s past calls to eliminate the agency he now wishes to lead.
\u201cIt\u2019s a problem for me. To put this man in charge of a department, which\u2014when he remembered\u2014he wanted to abolish makes no sense at all,\u201c Durbin said. \u201dIt\u2019s almost spiteful.\u201d
Perry also seems willing to concede that climate change is both real and likely caused by humans. Perry said in the prepared remarks that climate change is real, but any proposed solutions cannot come into conflict with American business.
\u201cI believe the climate is changing. I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by man-made activity,\u201d Perry is expected to say in his testimony. \u201cThe question is how do we address it in a thoughtful way that doesn\u2019t compromise economic growth, the affordability of energy, or American jobs.\u201d
Perry\u2019s comments are similar to those made Wednesday by Trump\u2019s nominee for UN Ambassador, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
\u201cI think the climate change issue should always be on the table, but we don\u2019t want the Paris agreement to interfere with our economy,\u201d the Republican governor told senators on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation.
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