Secretary of Energy

From USApedia
United States Secretary of Energy
File:Seal of the United States Department of Energy.svg
Seal of the department
File:Flag of the United States Secretary of Energy.svg
Flag of the secretary
United States Department of Energy
StyleMadam Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member ofUnited States Cabinet
United States National Security Council
Reports toPresident of the United States
SeatJames V. Forrestal Building, Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President of the United States
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument42 U.S.C. § 7131
FormationAugust 6, 1977
First holderJames R. Schlesinger
SuccessionFifteenth[1]
DeputyDeputy Secretary
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level I
WebsiteEnergy.gov

The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department.[2] The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality.[3] Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.[4] Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position.[5] The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, Federico Peña.[6] Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.[7]

President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Energy, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, was confirmed on February 25, 2021. Granholm is the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.[8]

Nuclear weapons

In addition to responsibilities related to generation and use of energy, the secretary is the most senior official other than the president of the United States or Secretary of Defense with primary responsibility for the nation's ~3,800 viable nuclear weapons. This arrangement is intended to maintain full civilian control over strategic weapons, except as directed by the president for specific military uses.[9] The department of energy is responsible for the building, maintenance, and disposal of all nuclear weapons within the United States' arsenal in addition to safeguarding these weapons when they are not actively deployed in military service.[10] Under the terms of several successive treaties, most recently New START, the United States has reduced its strategic arsenal to 1,500 deployed weapons. Consequently, many older legacy weapons systems have been dismantled or scheduled for dismantlement, with their core radioactive fuel - generally plutonium - being reprocessed into reactor-grade or space exploration fuel.[11]

List of secretaries of energy

Parties

  Democratic (7)   Republican (9)[citation needed]

Status

  Acting Secretary of Energy

No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office Party President(s)
1 File:James Schlesinger official DoD photo BW (cropped).jpg James Schlesinger Virginia August 6, 1977 August 23, 1979 Republican Jimmy Carter
2 File:Secretary duncan.jpg Charles Duncan Texas August 24, 1979 January 20, 1981 Democratic
3 File:U.S. Secretary of Energy James Edwards of South Carolina.jpg James Edwards South Carolina January 23, 1981 November 5, 1982 Republican Ronald Reagan
4 File:Donald hodel.JPG Donald Hodel Oregon November 5, 1982 February 7, 1985 Republican
5 File:John S. Herrington, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.jpg John Herrington California February 7, 1985 January 20, 1989 Republican
6 File:AdmiralWatkinsSmall.jpg James Watkins California March 1, 1989 January 20, 1993 Republican George H. W. Bush
7 File:Hazel O'Leary 2.jpg Hazel O'Leary Virginia January 22, 1993 January 20, 1997 Democratic Bill Clinton
– File:Charles B Curtis DOE web.jpg Charles B. Curtis Pennsylvania January 20, 1997 March 12, 1997 Democratic
8 File:Federico pena.jpg Federico Peña Colorado March 12, 1997 June 30, 1998 Democratic
9 File:Bill Richardson, official DOE photo.png Bill Richardson New Mexico August 18, 1998 January 20, 2001 Democratic
10 File:Spencer Abraham.jpg Spencer Abraham Michigan January 20, 2001 February 1, 2005 Republican George W. Bush
11 File:Samuel Bodman.jpg Samuel Bodman Illinois February 1, 2005 January 20, 2009 Republican
12 File:Steven Chu official DOE portrait crop.jpg Steven Chu California January 20, 2009 April 22, 2013 Democratic Barack Obama
– File:Daniel Poneman official portrait.jpg Daniel Poneman Ohio April 22, 2013 May 21, 2013 Democratic
13 File:Ernest Moniz official portrait.jpg Ernest Moniz Massachusetts May 21, 2013 January 20, 2017 Democratic
– File:Grace Bochenek (4x3 crop).jpg Grace Bochenek January 20, 2017 March 2, 2017 Donald Trump
14 File:Rick Perry official portrait.jpg Rick Perry Texas March 2, 2017 December 1, 2019 Republican
15 File:Dan Brouillette official photo (cropped).jpg Dan Brouillette Texas December 1, 2019 December 4, 2019 Republican
December 4, 2019 January 20, 2021
– File:David G. Huizenga official portrait.jpg David Huizenga January 20, 2021 February 25, 2021 Democratic Joe Biden
16 Secretary Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Granholm Michigan February 25, 2021 Incumbent Democratic

See also

References

  1. ↑ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19. 
  2. ↑ "Origins". U.S. Department of Energy. https://www.energy.gov/about/origins.htm. 
  3. ↑ "The Clinton Administration". The Washington Post. February 18, 2000. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/admin.htm. 
  4. ↑ "Biography of James Schlesinger Origins". U.S. Department of Defense. http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/schlesinger.htm. 
  5. ↑ "President Hazel R. O'Leary Honored by Urban League". Fisk University. http://www.fisk.edu/fisk_headlines/august/stories/oleary.htm. 
  6. ↑ "Federico F. Peña to be Sworn in as the Eighth Secretary of Energy". U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.osti.gov/news/releases97/marpr/pr97015.html. 
  7. ↑ Rudin, Ken (2008-12-15). "npr.org". https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2008/12/nobel_prize_winners_in_the_cab.html. 
  8. ↑ "Secretaries of Energy" (in en). https://www.energy.gov/lm/secretaries-energy. 
  9. ↑ "Atomic Energy Act of 1946". US Library of Congress. https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/79th-congress/session-2/c79s2ch724.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Maintaining the Stockpile". US Department of Energy. https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile. 
  11. ↑ "Military Warheads as a Source of Nuclear Fuel". World Nuclear Association. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/uranium-resources/military-warheads-as-a-source-of-nuclear-fuel. 

External links

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