WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said Friday he is nominating Dan Brouillette to be the top official at the Energy Department, a day after Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the president he would resign from the post later this year.
In statements on Twitter, Trump thanked Perry, who the president said is leaving "to pursue other interests" before 2020.
"At the same time, I am pleased to nominate Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette to be the new Secretary of Energy. Dan's experience in the sector is unparalleled," Trump said. "A total professional, I have no doubt that Dan will do a great job!"
It is unclear when Perry will leave and when Brouillette, who has served as deputy secretary since August 2017, will take over as acting secretary before a confirmation process in the Senate.
In recent weeks, Perry emerged as a key figure in the House's Trump impeachment inquiry, and Democratic investigators on House committees are examining Perry's connections to Trump's effort to extract political favors from Ukraine in exchange for military aid.
Perry has until Friday to comply with a subpoena from the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Government Reform committees. DOE did not respond to a request for comment over meeting the subpoena deadline.
"Rick has done a fantastic job," Trump told reporters Thursday in Texas. "But it was time."
Perry said he would follow administration attorneys' advice on whether to respond to the subpoenas.
"The House has sent a subpoena over for the records that we have, and our general counsel and the White House counsel are going through the process right now," Perry said Wednesday in an interview with Fox Business channel. "I'm going to follow the lead of my counsel on that."
Brouillette worked at DOE during the George W. Bush administration and has followed Perry's lead on policy.
