The US Senate voted 70 to 15 to confirm Dan Brouillette as secretary of energy, succeeding Rick Perry, who stepped down last month after reports linked him to claims President Donald Trump had tried to improperly influence the government of Ukraine.

Brouillette, Perry's deputy since 2017, has been a key player in promoting the Trump administration's so-called "energy dominance" agenda - a geopolitical strategy for achieving self-sufficiency in energy and to maximise the economic and technological benefits of doing so, while having ample surplus for export to friendly nations facing supply uncertainties.