President Trump’s pick to succeed Rick Perry as Energy secretary won easy Senate confirmation Monday, despite a Democratic senator’s objections that the nominee hadn’t fully answered questions related to the Trump impeachment investigation. Several other Democrats joined Republicans in approving Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette’s promotion, 70 to 15. Confirmation of Brouillette, who’d been responsible for day-to-day operations at the Energy Department for two years under Perry, came a day after Perry’s resignation became effective. Brouillette, a veteran in state and federal energy regulatory matters, easily won bipartisan support since Trump nominated him Nov. 7. He told a Senate committee hearing last month that he knew nothing about any of the Ukraine conversations under scrutiny.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 03, 2019 02:29 UTC