“A sudden tailwind yesterday pushed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) through the Senate to lead the Department of Energy.

The 30-hour cloture debate ended early as Democrats threw in the towel instead of running out the clock.

…

“”The new secretary has got to get his arms around the nuclear weapons program,”” said Dan Reicher, who joined DOE in 1992 and worked under four Energy secretaries.

“”That’s going to require in-depth conversations with the Pentagon and senior folks with national security positions at the White House,”” added Reicher, who is now executive director of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University.

…

“”The potential budget cuts loom large, but I think morale is an important near-term problem,”” Reicher said.”

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