Perry had been in the Trump administration as Secretary of Energy since March 2017. He announced his resignation after reports suggested he was behind the controversial 25 July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is at the center of the US House’s ongoing impeachment inquiry.

Dan Brouillette, who will take over from Perry, has been serving as US Deputy Secretary of Energy since August 2017. He was born in 1962 in Paincourtville, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Maryland.

Brouillette is a US Army veteran, who has been active in the private sector and also served in government agencies – he was Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the US Department of Energy from 2001 to 2003, and also served as Rep. Billy Tauzin’s legislative director and Chief of Staff.