US President Donald Trump said he will announce a new energy secretary soon after current postholder Rick Perry said he’ll leave later this year.
Trump said he already has a successor in mind for Perry, who resigned after three years in the role.
The US President said Perry had been in the job for “a long time” and the moment is right for a change, but media reports pointed to Perry being dragged into the row over alleged pressure by Trump on the government of Ukraine.
Perry in a statement released by the Department of Energy stressed success in fossil fuels as much as in wind and solar.
“From reviving our commercial nuclear energy industry to producing historic levels of domestic oil and gas and renewable energy, America has seen a remarkable turnaround in our energy industry,” Perry said.
Perry also heavily talked up the theme of US energy independence that has been a watchword for the Trump administration.