However during a 2015 Iowa Agriculture Summit in Des Moines, the former governor said he opposed extending the federal tax credit for wind power. "I do if a state wants to do it," he said. "I don't at the federal level. I think all of these need to be looked at, whether it's oil and gas, whether it's the wind side, whether it's the [Renewable Fuel Standard program] - I think all of them need to be put on the table, prove whether or not these are in fact in the best interest of this country."</s>WASHINGTON: Rick Perry, the former governor of oil-rich Texas who once vowed to eradicate the Energy Department if elected president, is Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, US media reported.

The Texas native, who participated in the Republican primary but was crushed by President-elect Trump early on, was seen Monday afternoon entering and exiting Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Perry once assailed Trump as a “cancer on conservatism” and threw his support behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz after dropping out of the race in September 2015, but he has long been rumored to be one of Trump’s main contenders for the energy post.

NBC and CBS news both reported late Monday that Trump had chosen Perry for the job, citing two sources familiar with the transition process.

The 66-year-old former governor, who also ran for the Republican party’s 2012 nomination, famously fumbled a debate when he vowed to abolish three US departments—but could only remember the names of two.

“The third agency of government I would do away with—the education, the commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one I can’t. Sorry. Ooops,” he told a tittering crowd in 2011, only to remember later in the debate that it was the Energy Department.

The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry was the first casualty in a crowded battle for the Republican Party nomination in 2016. AFP</s>WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Texas governor Rick Perry, who once famously said he would abolish the Energy Department, to serve as its secretary Wednesday.

The nomination puts Perry, the oil-rich state's longest-serving governor, in charge of a vast array of energy oversight, including enhancement of nuclear security and science and innovation in the energy field.

"As the governor of Texas, Rick Perry created a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as secretary of energy," Trump said in a statement.

Perry, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former farmer, will replace current Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist by training who was a leading force behind the United States' marathon efforts to seal the Iran nuclear deal.

"I look forward to engaging in a conversation about the development, stewardship and regulation of our energy resources, safeguarding our nuclear arsenal, and promoting an American energy policy that creates jobs and puts America first," Perry said.

Perry, who participated in the Republican primary but was crushed by Trump early on, once assailed the real estate mogul as a "cancer on conservatism."

He became the first casualty in a crowded battle for the Republican Party nomination in 2016, throwing his support behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz after dropping out.

The 66-year-old also ran for the Republican party's 2012 nomination, famously fumbling during a debate when he vowed to abolish three U.S. departments — but could only remember the names of two.

"The third agency of government I would do away with — the education, the commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one I can't. Sorry. Oops," he told a tittering crowd in 2011, only to remember later in the debate that he wanted to scrap the Energy Department.

Perry served as lieutenant governor of Texas beginning in 1999 under then-governor George W. Bush. He went on to serve as the 47th governor of the state from 2000 to 2015.

Trump's statement called Perry "one of the most successful governors in modern history, having led Texas through a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity by developing the state's energy resources and infrastructure, and making low-cost energy available to companies and families."

Before assuming public office, Perry flew C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in Europe and the Middle East while serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1972 to 1977.

Perry grew up in the small Texas town of Pain Creek, where his parents were tenant farmers.</s>Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has taken umbrage with President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to become the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

In a statement released by his office, Malloy engaged in a bit of self-congratulatory accolades by noting the expansion of Connecticut’s renewable energy solutions “over the past six years.” He condemned the decision to bring Perry to the Energy Department, claiming it was an insult to political and scientific intelligence.

“Appointing a person to lead the very federal agency he called to eliminate is an affront to taxpayers, the industry, and department public servants,” Malloy said. “The public is owed a further explanation regarding the true intention of this nomination, which, on the surface level, is nothing short of contemptuous. Governor Perry is an oil-man from an oil-rich state who is being appointed to lead the department that oversees carbon, renewable and nuclear energy. The contrast between his record and the current Energy Secretary is stark. This agency, which also oversees our nation’s nuclear weapons program, has been recently led by renowned scientists – scientists who agree humankind is responsible for climate change – a scientific fact that Governor Perry questions. Those who question that we are responsible for global warming cannot seriously be considered for confirmation by the Senate. One need not look too far to find a candidate far more qualified to run this important agency than Governor Perry.”

This is not the first time that Perry ruffled Malloy’s political feathers. In 2013, while still the governor of Texas, Perry actively sought to lure manufacturers from Connecticut and New York to his state, with a particular focus on local gun makers that were unhappy with Malloy’s push for more restrictive gun control laws. However, when Perry met with executives from Connecticut firearms companies in Hartford in June 2013, Malloy unexpectedly crashed the meeting, claiming that he was on hand to show some “Yankee hospitality” to the visiting Texan.</s>(CNN) President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to be his nominee for energy secretary, multiple transition sources told CNN Tuesday, which would make him head of an agency he once sought to eliminate.

Perry, twice an aspirant for the White House and for decades a swaggering figure in the Texas Republican Party, returns to the national limelight after his career in politics withered amid scandal and embarrassment.

If confirmed by the Senate, Perry will inherit a department that has focused on promoting clean energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, but has also seen domestic production of oil explode. And his selection is a nod to the traditional GOP emphasis on energy sources like coal and oil.

A hallmark of Obama's Energy Department has been the grants and loans it issues for research. The loan program was expanded to include renewable energy projects as part of Obama's economic stimulus package in 2009, and more than $30 billion in loans have been issued since then.

These loans have also been a source of controversy. In 2011, Obama administration had to defend its loan to Silicon Valley energy startup Solyndra when it filed for bankruptcy and taxpayers had to foot a $535 million bill. For all its support of green energy, the department has also presided over a massive oil boom.

Obama's current energy secretary Ernest Moniz is a longtime supporter of fracking, which he sees as a "bridge" to a low-carbon future. He has lauded increased domestic production of oil and natural gas via the technique. Hydraulic fracturing technology, more commonly known as fracking, now accounts for more than half of all US oil production -- a massive jump considering fracking made up less than 2% of the country's oil output in 2000. The production of American crude has nearly doubled in the past decade, putting U.S. behind only Saudi Arabia and Russia in world rankings.

Trump has made it clear he wants the US to play an even bigger role in the global oil ecosystem.

"I've never understood why, with all of our own reserves, we've allowed this country to be held hostage by OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing countries, some of which are hostile to America," Trump wrote in his book "Crippled America."

Experts say pumping more oil could decrease the country's dependence on foreign crude, but there's also a risk it would send prices crashing again. Oversupply caused oil prices to plummet as much as 75% between 2014 and earlier this year.

Perry's selection culminates a four-year effort to rebuild his political image in the aftermath of his disastrous 2012 run. A late entrant into the presidential primary, Perry was recruited as the sought-after alternative to eventual nominee Mitt Romney, but his policy stumbles failed to install confidence and his career sputtered.

The crystallizing moment -- when Perry on a primary debate stage blanked and painfully could not recall the name of the third federal agency he vowed to eliminate as President -- none other than the Energy Department that he will now lead -- a gaffe that became known primarily for the word with which he ended his live misery: "Oops."

Four years later -- under the threat of prosecution for allegedly promising to strip funding for a county agency if a local official would not leave her post -- Perry's campaign was more modest. He became one of the first candidates to attack Trump, labeling him at one point a "cancer on conservatism," but dropped out in September 2015 amid fundraising troubles. He eventually became an occasional surrogate for Trump during the general election.

In his first 100 days, Trump says he'll roll back Obama-era regulations on the fossil fuel industry, bringing jobs back to coal country. Many of these regulations fall under the Environmental Protection Agency , but leadership from the Energy Department could play a key role.

Trump has also pledged to expand drilling on federal land, which would require approval from the Interior Department. The Army Corps of Engineers, which reports to the Department of Defense, oversees the permit process for the contentious Dakota Access Pipeline.

Trump picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA last Thursday. He has not yet announced his choice for Interior secretary.</s>WASHINGTON — Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Energy secretary, has close ties to the Texas oil industry and has corporate roles in two petroleum companies pushing to get government approval for the proposed 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline that has stoked mass protests in North Dakota.

Perry’s current roles as board director at Energy Transfer Partners LP and also at Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, which jointly developed the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project, is a strong indicator of the pro-oil industry sentiment that will likely take root at the Energy Department under his oversight. Perry is close to Texas energy industry executives, and his political campaigns, including two aborted presidential campaigns, benefited substantially from their donations.

The former Texas governor would not have authority to intervene directly after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision last month to delay the pipeline to allow talks with the Standing Rock Sioux and other project opponents. The Army will decide whether to grant an easement near the Sioux reservation in North Dakota, and the departments of Energy, Interior and Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency have had lesser supporting roles.

Trump announced his choice of Perry in an early morning release Wednesday from Trump Tower in New York.

He called Perry “one of the most successful governors in modern history, having led Texas through a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity by developing the state’s energy resources and infrastructure, and making low-cost energy available to companies and families.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected to serve as Secretary of Energy by President-elect Trump,” Perry said. “I am deeply humbled by his trust in me.”

Perry’s close relations with energy executives and his long-time dependence on them for political contributions signal an abrupt change of course at the Energy Department. Perry is expected to welcome the four-state pipeline and similar projects, set an open-door policy for oil industry interests and possibly tear down the department altogether.

During his unsuccessful 2012 run for the presidency, Perry proposed eliminating the Energy Department. As secretary, he would be involved in policy decisions on increasing the nation’s domestic supply of oil and investments in oil exploration research and technology.

The department plays a major regulatory role in overseeing nuclear power and natural gas. It also manages 17 national labs charged with developing science and technology to further the nation’s energy sector and conduct research to spur innovation. It also maintains and secures U.S. nuclear weapons.

Soon after stepping down as Texas governor, Perry joined Energy Transfer Partners in February 2015, and its general partner, Sunoco Logistics, one month later. Energy Transfer Partners is owned by Kelcy Warren, a Dallas billionaire who has been a loyal Perry donor during his gubernatorial and presidential runs.

During the 2016 campaign, Warren donated $500,000 to the Opportunity and Freedom super political action committee backing Perry’s run for the White House. Warren also gave nearly $250,000 to Republican candidates and committees. The oil and gas industry was the dominant sector behind Perry’s 2016 presidential effort, donating more than $1.6 million.

Energy Transfer’s 2016 annual report showed that Perry owned $154,000 worth of partnership units. At Sunoco Logistics, Perry was awarded units worth about $101,000, according to the firm’s 2015 annual report.

Perry’s wife, Anita, also owned up to $15,000 in shares in Warren’s flagship firm, Energy Transfer Equity LP, and a similar amount in Sunoco Logistics, according to her husband’s 2015 presidential financial disclosure. Perry and his wife also reported owning several other energy-related investments including between $50,000 and $100,000 in the Dallas-based Grey Rock Energy Fund and between $15,000 and $50,000 in holdings in QR Energy LP.

The incoming Trump administration has said it plans to approve the controversial pipeline project, which was stalled in recent months by defiant protests by Native American and environmental opponents. The Army Corps ruled last month that it was delaying a decision on an easement for the project near the Sioux reservation in North Dakota. The decision quickly spurred legal complaints against the Army Corps by the pipeline project’s developers.

Emails and phone calls to the Trump transition team and Energy Transfer Partners for comment were not returned. A spokesman for Sunoco Logistics referred questions to Energy Transfer Partners, saying that the partner firm appoints the Sunoco Logistics board.

Perry’s net worth of about $3 million does not compare to the multimillion dollar fortunes of President-elect Donald Trump and other corporate leaders named to Cabinet positions in his administration. But the former Texas governor could face similar questions about potential ethics conflicts unless he divests his assets into a government-approved blind trust.

His most recent presidential financial disclosure, filed in 2015, showed that a sizeable portion of his wealth in recent years has come from energy investments and consulting work for a Texas equipment firm that provides heavy machinery for oil exploration work.

Perry’s 2015 disclosure reported $250,000 in income during that period from Holt Texas Ltd., an equipment firm headed by Peter Holt, a long-time political donor to Perry’s campaigns. Holt’s San Antonio firm, known as Holt Cat, sells and rents Caterpillar equipment, including heavy-duty engines for oil exploration.

Holt, who also owns the San Antonio Spurs, has donated more than $600,000 to Perry’s campaigns since 2000. Perry had at least 11 telephone conversations with Holt’s company dating back to 2008, according to a review of the governor’s phone records provided previously to The Associated Press under Texas public-information laws.

Perry might also face questions about his 2014 indictment by a grand jury in Travis County, Texas, for corruption-related charges. Perry was cleared of the charges in 2015, but not before he had to defend himself in a messy public case that shadowed his 2016 presidential run.

He was indicted in August 2014 following an investigation by a special prosecutor into several actions he took as Texas governor. Perry was accused on two felony charges — threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding to the state Public Integrity Unit and pressing for the resignation of the Travis County district attorney after she was convicted on drunk-driving charges.

Both charges were dismissed by Texas state appeals courts.

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Jack Gillum contributed to this report.</s>U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday formally announced Rick Perry, a former Texas governor and Trump's one-time presidential rival, as his choice to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.

If the nomination is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the move would put Perry in charge of a federal department that he had proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.</s>Donald Trump has selected former Texas governor Rick Perry as his nominee for secretary of energy according to multiple transition sources.

Rick Perry is a board member for Energy Transfer Partners the oil company who have stated they will continue to pushing on with construction of the controversial North Dakota Access Pipeline.

The two men made the decision during their meeting on Monday evening at Trump Tower in New York City, sources told Fox News on Tuesday.

The next secretary of energy would lead a 13,000-strong department whose main missions include providing funds for energy research, regulating energy efficiency and overseeing the country’s nuclear weapons.

As a Republican presidential candidate in 2011, Perry said he would eliminate three federal agencies including the Department of Energy. During a primary debate in that year, he even forgot the name of the department in one of the worst gaffes in American debate history.

“I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the — What’s the third one there? Let’s see.”

Perry is a board member for Energy Transfer Partners, which is attempting to build a controversial oil pipeline in North Dakota.

Last week, the administration of President Barack Obama halted construction of a disputed segment of the Dakota Access Pipeline, delivering a major victory to Native Americans and climate activists who have staged months of protests.

However, some tribal leaders are worried that their victory may prove short-lived as the incoming Trump administration could reverse the decision.

Perry also ran for president in the 2016 campaign, and was originally very critical of Trump.

Before bowing out of the race, he called Trump a “barking carnival act” and described his candidacy as a “cancer on conservatism.”</s>LGBT record: Opposed same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and even refused processing benefits for same-sex military couples stationed in Texas. He has also opposed nondiscrimination legislation, compared homosexuality to alcoholism, and supports both “religious freedom” legislation and conversion therapy.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to name former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, according to The New York Times. Perry’s selection has raised eyebrows among many Washington insiders for various reasons, not the least of which is that, as a presidential candidate in 2011, Perry named the Department of Energy as one of three government agencies he’d eliminate if elected to the White House.

Perry would later forget the Energy Department in his list of three agencies to eliminate during a live televised presidential debate, saying he’d eliminate the Commerce and Education Departments but blanking on the name of the third. That gaffe, which was an unforced error on Perry’s part, ended up sinking his presidential hopes and helped pave the way for Mitt Romney’s nomination as the Republican standard-bearer.

More importantly, while the political world is quite aware of Perry’s fondness for fossil fuel extraction — not surprising given Texas’ vast energy resources — the Energy Department actually plays a larger role in designing nuclear weapons and stopping nuclear proliferation. According to the Times, 60 percent of the department’s budget is devoted to the National Nuclear Security Administration, which defines its mission as enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. Under the Obama administration, the department was key in negotiating part of the Iran nuclear deal. The agency has also done extensive research into climate change — which Perry is skeptical of — and supported the development of clean energy technologies.

Indeed, many in Washington are puzzled that Perry, who has little or no foreign policy experience, a resume where his top two positions were governor and agricultural commissioner of Texas, and only boasts a bachelor’s degree in animal science, would be chosen for a job with national security implications. For example, Trump could have instead chosen Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, who also comes from a pro-extraction state with significant oil and gas reserves. However, unlike Perry, Fallin served in Congress, where she was a member of the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, all of which would give her relevant experience dealing with issues that might arise in overseeing the Energy Department.

Though LGBT issues rarely factor into policies promoted by the Energy Department, Perry ranks with Trump Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions and Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Price as one of the most vehemently anti-LGBT cabinet nominees. Perry supported both Texas’ constitutional amendment and a proposed federal amendment banning same-sex marriage, and has attacked judges who have struck down such bans. Perry also defended Texas’ ban on allowing LGBT couples to adopt children, and supports a federal measure that would do the same. In 2013, he refused to process requests for same-sex partner benefits from LGBT military members stationed in Texas.

Perry has repeatedly opposed employment nondiscrimination legislation, and has expressed support for measures that would permit anti-LGBT discrimination under the guise of “religious freedom.” Perry supports conversion therapy for people with same-sex attraction, has compared homosexuality to alcoholism, and previously opposed lifting the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on openly gay scouts and scout leaders.

Perry’s most famous ad from his presidential campaign in 2011 was one where he lamented that “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” In that spot, he promised to end the “war on religion” and vowed to “fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.”</s>President-elect Donald Trump has announced his selection of former campaign rival Rick Perry to be the country's next secretary of energy.

In a statement early Wednesday on his decision, Trump said that Perry, a former governor of Texas, had led his state through "a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity" by developing its energy resources and infrastructure.

[INTERACTIVE: Donald Trump timeline + complete guide to appointments made so far]

Trump says in his statement that his administration "is going to make sure we take advantage of our huge natural resource deposits to make America energy independent and create vast new wealth for our nation."

Perry calls it "a tremendous honor" to be chosen for Trump's Cabinet. Perry adds that he looks forward to "engaging in a conversation" about America's energy future.
President-elect Trump announces former Governor of Texas Rick Perry is his choice to be Secretary of Energy.