Sierra Club: Rick Perry Tapped to Run Agency He'd Eliminate If Only He Could Name It
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump will reportedly appoint Rick Perry as the head of the U.S. Department of Energy.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
"Rick Perry is being tapped to run an agency he would eliminate if he could only remember its name. Trump's latest appointment is an insult to our functioning democracy. Putting Perry in charge of the Department of Energy is the perfect way to ensure the agency fails at everything it is charged to do, so Trump might as well just lock the doors for four years.
"This isn't leadership by Trump, it's a reckless, dangerous decision that proves he has little interest in a functioning government and every interest in propping up his fossil fuel billionaire buddies.
"Perry's clear financial interests in major energy projects like the Dakota Access pipeline make it obvious that there's no way he could manage the agency's activities impartially. His ideological obsession with promoting dirty fossil fuels and ignoring the climate crisis means he is just as unfit for this position as the other climate deniers Trump is promoting for key posts.
"Americans didn't vote for more fossil fuels, more drilling and fracking, and more pollution, but that's what we're getting with Perry and Trump. We strongly urge Senators, who are elected to represent and protect the American people, to stand up for communities across the nation and oppose this nomination."