In a 62-37 vote, the Senate has voted to confirm Rick Perry as the Secretary of Energy under President Donald Trump.
Perry, who graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor's degree in animal science, will guide research and policy related to energy production in the US, handle issues related to radioactive waste disposal, lead nuclear reactor projects, and run the US' system of national laboratories. He will also oversee grants that fund scientific research.
That's in addition, of course, to being responsible for the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Unlike those who filled the role before him over the last decade, Perry does not have a professional background in science. (He also once suggested he'd like to eliminate the Department of Energy, though he has since reversed his stance on the matter.)
Perry won't be the first non-scientist to head the department. From the 1970s until 2005, the post was held by people without science or engineering degrees (mostly politicians and lawyers). After that, all Secretaries of Energy had held PhDs until now. Take a look:
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1977-1979: James Schlesinger
James Schlesinger was the first US Secretary of Energy, a Republican picked by President Jimmy Carter to head the department just after it was formed. Schlesinger had led the Department of Defense from 1973-1975 and played a significant role in national nuclear policy. As Secretary of Energy, he worked to consolidate the department's functions, which had previously been distributed across several agencies, and funded research efforts that included one of the first federal investigations into the impact of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere.
1979-1981: Charles Duncan Jr.
The second Secretary of Energy under Carter, Duncan also previously served as Secretary of Defense. Carter was criticized for the selection because Duncan, a former executive in the coffee industry, had no direct experience with oil. As secretary, Duncan worked on negotiations with OPEC during a tough period in the global oil economy.
1981-1982: James Edwards
James Edwards was President Ronald Reagan's first Secretary of Energy. A former governor of South Carolina with a background in oral surgery, Edwards was known as a proponent of nuclear energy, and, like Perry once promised to dismantle the Department of Energy (he didn't, of course).
The New York Times reports that Edwards "struggled" in the post — he was criticized for his lack of expertise in the field and hamstrung by the Reagan administration's distaste for the department.
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