Perry previously said he wanted to shut down the department
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry will appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Thursday to make his case for why he should be the United States’ next Secretary of Energy.
Perry initially ran against Trump in the early days of the contentious Republican primary, even calling his then-opponent a “cancer on conservatism.” But when Trump announced he was nominating Perry for his cabinet, the president-elect praised his record of producing jobs and lowering energy prices in Texas.
However, the energy department also oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal, an area where Perry has far less experience. During Thursday’s hearing, he is expected to face tough questions on this lack of experience in nuclear science, as well as about his statement in 2011 that he wanted to close the very department he now hopes to run.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Watch the live stream of the hearing above.