Rick Perry Confirmed to Lead Energy Department

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The Senate confirmed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy on Thursday in a 62-37 vote.

March 2, 2017, 2:40 PM EST / Updated March 2, 2017, 2:40 PM EST

By Andrew Rafferty

The Senate confirmed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy on Thursday in a 62-37 vote.

Perry, who ran for president in both 2012 and 2016, once advocated for the elimination of the department he now runs. In his confirmation hearing, Perry promised to champion the department charged with protecting the nation’s nuclear weapons.

The climate change skeptic also promised to listen to scientists who believe the earth’s climate is changing because of human activities.

Perry was the second of President Donald Trump’s former rivals to be confirmed on Thursday. The Senate approved Dr. Ben Carson in a party-line vote to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development earlier in the day.

Andrew Rafferty

Andrew Rafferty has been a political reporter for NBCNews.com since 2013. Rafferty writes and reports on politics for the web, and shoots and produces video for all NBC platforms.

Prior to joining NBCNews.com, Rafferty was a campaign reporter covering the 2012 presidential election. Rafferty was on the road for both the Republican primaries and general election, providing content for both the web and television.

Rafferty began at NBC News through a fellowship at "Meet The Press."

He is from Buffalo, N.Y., and attended John Carroll University in Ohio.

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