Rick Perry is not cooperating with the impeachment inquiry — for now


Add another name to the list.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry won't testify in the House impeachment inquiry, the Energy Department announced Friday. Perry, who is expected to resign by the end of the year, was asked to participate in a closed-door deposition next week, but he's now the latest White House official to refuse to cooperate with the inquiry.
Perry — along with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker, the former special representative to Ukraine — was put in charge of the Trump administration's Kyiv policy after the removal of Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in May, so the House was no doubt hoping he would shed some light on things like President Trump's interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and any possible requests to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. (Perry has insisted the Bidens have never come up in his conversations with Ukrainian officials nor with Trump, per CNN.) But it was to no avail. The Energy Department did indicate, however, that Perry would consider complying with the investigation in an open hearing.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If the committee is interested in conducting a serious proceeding they are welcome to send for the secretary's consideration an invitation to participate in an open hearing where the department's counsel can be present and the American people can witness," Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hines said. Read more at Reuters and CNN.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda