What do you do if a president-elect asks you to lead a government agency that you famously wanted to abolish?
Well, if you're former Texas governor Rick Perry, you immediately fess up and apologize to the senate at the start of your confirmation hearing.。
SEE ALSO:Rick Perry vowed to scrap the Energy Department. Now he may lead it.。On Thursday, Perry told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that -- surprise! -- he no longer wants to abolish the Energy Department, which is tasked with overseeing the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and promoting energy research, among other duties.。
"I have learned a great deal about the important work being done every day by the outstanding men and women of the Department of Energy," Perry said.。
"My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking," he said. 。
Thanks for signing up!。
"In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination."。
Tweet may have been deleted 。
As Energy secretary, Perry would be one of the leading figures responsible for monitoring Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, and would also play a key role in directing any Trump administration effort to revamp U.S. nuclear weapons programs.。
Perry marks a sharp shift for the Energy Department, which is an agency that deals with specialized scientific applications, including supercomputers that help project climate change scenarios and programs that aim to assure the safety and effectiveness of nuclear weapons.。
Perry's predecessors at the agency, Secretary Ernest Moniz and former secretary Steven Chu, were both well-known physicists. Chu, in fact, had a Nobel Prize in the subject. 。
Featured Video For You 。
(责任编辑:娛樂)
Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold
How Star Wars fans are reclaiming the prequels with memes
Drake keeps canceling shows and everyone is pissed
Terrify the children in your life with this weeping unicorn candle
Drake keeps canceling shows and everyone is pissed
Wiz Khalifa is getting called out for these Instagram pics by Pablo Escobar's grave
Once again, Ted Cruz's face is a meme
Uber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enough
3 reasons to worry about the FBI's facial recognition program
Did our grandparents have the best beauty advice?
Facebook struggles to prevent violence on Facebook Live