Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to resign by the end of November, according to Politico, but his exit is totally unrelated to the Ukraine scandal.
Just kidding. The news surfaced just several days after Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey sent a letter to Perry inquiring about his role in leading the U.S. delegation to Ukraine in May for the inauguration of the country's newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Perry was a stand-in for Vice President Mike Pence, who had been scheduled to go but reportedly backed out at the direction of Trump. The letter noted that the whistleblower complaint said Perry "made clear" that Trump was waiting on the sidelines until he had a chance to see how Volodymyr was going to conduct himself in office. Menendez wondered what other messages Perry may have relayed.
Perry's resignation is almost surely related to the scandal. The question is whether he will now cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry. One thing is clear—there's certainly a better chance he will cooperate if he's not still part of the Trump administration.