Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced on Oct. 17 he would resign and leave the department by year’s end, after months of speculation that he would leave the Department of Energy (DOE). The next day, President Trump announced that he will nominate Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to replace Perry.
Brouillette is well-versed with DOE operations and getting Congress to implement energy policy, having served as the agency’s assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs, from 2001 through 2003, during the George W. Bush administration. He played a key role in laying the groundwork for what would become the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
As vice president of Ford Motor Company’s federal affairs office, he participated in negotiations over the Energy Policy Act of 2007. This legislation expanded fuel economy programs and the Renewable Fuel Standard, the biofuel program.
Brouillette also led public policy for the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a financial institution for the military, and served on the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board. He also was chief of staff for then-Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.).
A military veteran, Brouillette said he became interested in nuclear weapons and national security when he was deployed to Germany in the Cold War era.