US Energy Secretary Rick Perry expected to announce resignation

Sources say Perry wants to return to the private sector, and would become the latest in a long line of Donald Trump’s Cabinet members to leave

Perry has contacts in Ukraine and has been drawn into the president’s impeachment inquiry, but the move is apparently not related to that

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US Energy Secretary Rick Perry speak during an event, as US President Donald Trump looks on. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:01pm, 4 Oct 2019Updated: 3:29am, 24 Oct 2019

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry is planning to step down from his post by the end of the year, according to four individuals briefed on his plans, making him one of roughly a dozen Cabinet members to leave their post during President Donald Trump’s administration.

Perry is likely to return to the private sector, one of these individuals said. All four spoke on the condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made.

The former Texas governor, who has touted fossil fuels but also research into alternative energy since taking office, has not enacted the same sweeping policy changes as his counterparts at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Politico first reported on Thursday night that Perry planned to leave by the end of November.

Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in an email, “While the Beltway media has breathlessly reported on rumours of Secretary Perry’s departure for months, he is still the Secretary of Energy and a proud member of President Trump’s Cabinet. One day the media will be right. Today is not that day.”