In a 2011 Republican primary debate, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry boldly proclaimed there were three agencies he’s immediately eliminate as president—the Department of Education, the Commerce Department and … he forgot. The department he couldn’t remember was the Department of Energy. America had a laugh about Perry’s forgetful moment. Now Donald Trump may tap him to head the Department of Energy:
Donald Trump has narrowed his search for energy secretary to four people, with former Texas Governor Rick Perry the leading candidate.
People familiar with the president-elect’s selection process said two Democratic senators from energy-producing states — Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — are also in the mix, along with Ray Washburne, a Dallas investor and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
That’s no laughing matter. If Perry is named as the head of the Department of Energy, it could not be a clearer signal that Republicans intend to dismantle it. Take a look at the credentials of current Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz:
Prior to his appointment, Dr. Moniz was the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a faculty member since 1973. At MIT, he headed the Department of Physics and the Bates Linear Accelerator Center. Most recently, Dr. Moniz served as the founding Director of the MIT Energy Initiative and as Director of the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment where he was a leader of multidisciplinary technology and policy studies on the future of nuclear power, coal, nuclear fuel cycles, natural gas and solar energy in a low-carbon world.
From 1997 until January 2001, Dr. Moniz served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy. He was responsible for overseeing the Department’s science and energy programs, leading a comprehensive review of nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship, and serving as the Secretary’s special negotiator for the disposition of Russian nuclear materials. From 1995 to 1997, he served as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.
Before Dr. Moniz, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. Stephen Chu was the head of the Department of Energy. Before that it was Dr. Samuel Bodman, a doctor of science in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Are you seeing a trend here? The position is usually filled with the best and the brightest—seriously smart people who are tasked with overseeing our nuclear weapons program.
And this is who Donald Trump considers to be the best candidate for the job. It is utter incompetence.
