Reaction to the selection of Perry, who has been highly critical of the DOE during the Obama administration, has been mixed, with industry-aligned groups generally supporting the nomination, while environmental groups continue to express frustration with the cabinet that is emerging.

“The cabinet choices become more absurd every day,” said Natural Resources Defense Council President Rhea Suh in a statement. “Yet again, Trump has chosen an unqualified individual who is at war with the central mission of the agency he is being nominated to lead…We oppose Perry and this entire special interest take-over of the American government,” she said.

Salo Zelermyer, a former DOE senior counsel now at Bracewell Policy Resolutions Group in Washington, D.C., notes that although Perry did push oil and gas production in his state, he also was a strong proponent of wind energy. “This approach is a big reason why Texas experienced such enormous job growth during Perry’s tenure,” Zelermyer said in a statement.