In 2000, Rick Perry won the governor's seat in Texas after the previous governor George W. Bush resigned when he was elected as the president of the United States. Rick Perry was not expected to be a favorite to win the presidency in 2001 because of the strong competition he had from fellow Republicans Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Perry ran on a platform of small government, a flat tax, and energy reform. He referenced his long tenure in Texas as a reason for his qualification to be president.
Unfortunately for Perry, he performed badly during the presidential debates. After conceding his campaign and accepting that he was not going to win the race, he withdrew and threw his support behind Newt Gingrich. In Perry’s second attempt in 2016, he heavily criticized Donald Trump and called him "a cancer on conservatism." Perry seemed offended that an outside politician would dare make mockery of the highest office in the country. In a reversal of opinion, Perry dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump to win. Trump reciprocated and rewarded Perry after he eventually won. Trump assigned Rick Perry to become the Secretary of Energy in his cabinet.
Political Controversy
It was a surprise when Rick Perry cited Donald Trump’s shady past as a reason not to vote for him because Perry himself had unsavory legal issues. Rick Perry was formally accused by a court in 2014 for using his office position to force a public servant into unwanted behavior. The charges claimed Perry tried to force Rosemary Lehmberg to resign from the position of Travis County District Attorney. Perry used the threat of cutting funds from Lehmberg’s programs to influence her to resign. Rand Paul and Jeb Bush supported Rick Perry’s actions because Lehmberg was arrested for drunk driving and they believed she should have resigned with dignity instead of causing commotion in the Republican Party.
Perry’s legal battles didn’t end when he became Trump’s Energy secretary. A photographer named Simon Edelman documented a meeting between a Trump campaign donor and the CEO of Murray Energy, Robert Murray and Rick Perry. The photographer took a shot of the two men hugging each other, presumably after closing a deal. Murray had been pushing for increased market share for coal energy, a movement that would be endorsed by Trump’s cabinet after the meeting between Perry and Murray. Edelman claimed that he was escorted out of the Department of Energy headquarters when his photo appeared in a liberal publication.
Reference
Rick Perry Biography
https://www.biography.com/people/rick-perry-20663471
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 4 Mar, 1950 |
| Age: | 70 yrs |
| Occupations: | Military officer Politician Farmer |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Paint Creek |
| residence: | Texas |
| Education: | Texas A&M University |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | 14th United States Secretary of Energy |
| Spouse: | Anita Thigpen Perry |
| Net Worth 2021: | 3 million |
