U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is expected to resign next month, Politico reported Thursday evening.
Politico cited “three people familiar with his plans” in its report. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette is expected to serve as interim energy secretary after Perry leaves, Politico reported.
Perry, a former Texas governor, is facing questions about a dinner he attended with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in June, a month before President Donald Trump’s phone call to Zelenskiy that is at the center of Trump’s impeachment inquiry. Perry, who isn’t accused of wrongdoing, attended Zelenskiy’s inauguration in the place of Vice President Mike Pence.
In a Wednesday letter to Perry, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked him about his trip leading the delegation to Ukraine.
The three people Politico cited in its report said the Ukraine affair is unrelated to Perry’s decision to leave.
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